JOIN USNearly 50 traders obtained temporary licences to sell crackers during Deepavali by producing fake demand drafts (DD) to the city police commissioner’s office.
G S Ravikumar, first division assistant, office of the DCP admin in the commissioner’s office on Infantry Road, filed a complaint with the Vidhana Soudha police, charging the vendors of cheating and forgery.
He accused 10 vendors, including three women, of submitting fake DDs to get licences to sell firecrackers, stating in the complaint that the co-operative bank where the applicants obtained the DDs did not exist.
During the two-day Deepavali festival, the city police commissioner had issued a circular to all the vendors wanting to sell firecrackers to apply for a temporary licence.
Each vendor was required to submit a DD for Rs 5,000 in the name of the fire and emergency services for inspection. They were also asked to get an NoC (no-objection certificate) and take a draft of Rs 1,000 for the city police department to get a temporary licence. The amount was non-refundable. The police then issued licences after conducting an auction.
Bank didn’t exist
The forgery was found when the DDs were submitted to a nationalised bank for encashment, where it was learnt that the bank that issued the DDs — Kangar Co-operative Bank Ltd — in Koramangala 8th Block did not actually exist.
Investigations revealed that 50 such vendors submitted fake DDs of Rs 1,000 each to get temporary licences, causing loss to the exchequer.