VIJAYAWADA: In a major development, the transport department officials have tightened the noose around former MP and TDP senior leader JC Diwakar Reddy in the alleged scam related to the conversion of scrap vehicles into BS IV compliant ones.
RTA officials have written to the Union Ministry of Road Transport to blacklist the vehicles plying on roads violating the norms and registered 27 criminal cases against JC Uma Reddy and C Gopal Reddy, representing C Gopal Reddy Company and Jatadhara Industry Private Limited, which is headquartered in Tadipatri. Uma Reddy is the wife of the former MLA.
Addressing a press conference at the NTR Administrative Building here on Tuesday, Joint Transport Commissioner (Vigilance) SAV Prasada Rao said the department has identified 154 BS III vehicles that were sold by Ashok Leyland as scrap and illegally plying on the roads. In all, 50 vehicles belong to Jatadhara Company and the remaining belong to C Gopal Reddy Company.
JC Uma Reddy and JC Asmith Reddy have been working as directors of C Gopal Reddy Company since 2007. Among the total vehicles, 101 were traced in Andhra Pradesh, 33 in Karnataka, 15 in Telangana, three in Nagaland, one vehicle each in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh and three more vehicles are yet to be identified, he said.
Elaborating on the probe, the JTC said, “We found that the two companies submitted fake documents to insurance companies to get third-party insurance cover violating the Motor Vehicles Act.” “We have suggested the insurance companies to verify the vehicles availing the third-party insurance premium and ensure they follow the guidelines prescribed in the Government of India portal and upload their details,” he said. “We also found out that 71 insurance policies relating to the vehicles are fake. Of them, 47 are policies given by United Insurance Company and 12 each given by HDFC Insurance and Oriental Insurance Company,” he observed.