Days after the alleged circulation of fake municipal corporation (MC) vending permits came to the fore, UT police have booked unidentified persons for cheating and counterfeiting, in an FIR registered at the Sector 17 police station.
Police said the complaint included copies of nine suspected fake permit slips. Of these, two have been found to be genuine, while the remaining slips are being verified.
The alleged racket came to light last Friday when MC enforcement staff caught a vendor displaying a forged permit during a challan drive in Sector 22 mobile market. The slip, showing a payment of ₹3,000 and purportedly valid from October 29 to November 12, was found to be unauthorised. On further checking, 12-13 more suspected duplicate permits were found in the Sector 22B and 22C markets.
Police have also questioned the vendor, who allegedly paid between ₹2,000 and ₹3,000 for the permit after being advised by another vendor to procure it. Investigators are now trying to identify the person behind the alleged counterfeiting operation.
According to the vendor, he had been advised to apply for the permit online by a juice seller operating in the market.
Lalit, a sub-inspector with the MC enforcement wing, had lodged a complaint with the police. Officials suspect that all the fake slips carried the same application number. The person who allegedly issued the permits had assured the vendor over the phone that the slip was genuine, but later switched off his phone. Police suspect that the person was operating in Sector 22 and may have sold similar permits in other city markets during the festival season.
Shopkeepers said the MC issues vending permits for up to seven days, while a special 20-day permit is also available during Diwali, depending on requirements. The latter costs around ₹47,200. They said the 15-day validity mentioned on the suspected fake slip raised suspicion, as the MC does not issue permits extending beyond the festival period.
Meanwhile, the MC is planning random checks in other markets to check for similar cases elsewhere.
Chandigarh Beopar Mandal president Sanjeev Chaddha said he had also taken up the matter with MC officials. “We will meet the MC commissioner on Tuesday. Such practices cause loss to all parties involved. The MC has already started random checking in various markets and we will also share inputs that we have received with the police,” he said.
Born and brought up in Chandigarh, Rajanbir has over eight years of experience reporting in the city with Hindustan Times. He is working as a senior correspondent and is currently covering crime and traffic for the UT and has previously covered beats including school and higher education, local courts, environment, RWAs, markets, business. He has also been the local weather reporter since joining HT.Read More