Kasaragod: Money does not grow on trees. But at the Kasaragod Regional Transport Office (RTO), often mired in allegations of corruption, money apparently makes good manure for potted plants.
A surprise search by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) at the RTO on Thursday afternoon uncovered ₹17,150 in two flower pots placed on stands outside the corridor.
VACB DySP V Unnikrishnan, who led the raid, said four driving school agents were found inside the office. “We reached the office at 2.45 pm. According to government instructions, RTOs are not open to the public after 1.30 pm. So their very presence inside the office was illegal,” he said.
Vigilance raid at RTO, Kasaragod. Photo: Special Arrangement
The discovery of cash in the flower pots deepened suspicions about the agents’ presence. “They might have thrown the money into the flower pots when they saw us entering the office,” Unnikrishnan said.
Vigilance officials said it was also possible that someone inside the office had disposed of unaccounted-for cash on noticing the raid team. The inspection was conducted following intelligence inputs about alleged corruption and the undue influence of driving school agents in RTO offices.
The search also uncovered irregularities at the Kanhangad sub-RTO. VACB officers found 24 authorisation letters empowering agents to handle vehicle registration, renewal and fitness-related procedures in the possession of a single official. “These authorisation letters are supposed to be kept in the respective files. If all of them are found with one official, it indicates a nexus between the official and the agents,” Unnikrishnan said.
A third raid was conducted at the Vellarikundu sub-RTO in Kasaragod district, under the leadership of Kannur Vigilance Inspector Sunil Kumar. “We found no irregularities there,” said the DySP.
The vigilance officer said it would submit its findings to the VACB directorate for further action.
The latest raids come against the backdrop of earlier corruption allegations involving the district’s transport offices. In June 2023, the government suspended a Motor Vehicle Inspector attached to the Kanhangad Sub-RTO after a vigilance raid caught driving school agents with ₹2.70 lakh at the Guruvanam driving test ground.
Vigilance officials had alleged that the money was collected from driving licence applicants and was meant to be passed on to officials as bribes.
