Mangaluru RTO staff suspended for tampering registration, undervaluing luxury car

Mangaluru: Three staff members of the Mangaluru office of the Deputy Commissioner for Transport and Senior Regional Transport Officer have been suspended for allegedly tampering with temporary car registration details and undervaluing a luxury vehicle to evade tax, causing a financial loss to the government.

Those suspended are headquarter Assistant Saraswathi, Superintendent Rekha Nayak, and First Division Assistant Neelappa KH, all working in the office of the office Deputy Commissioner for Transport in Mangaluru

According to officials, a temporary registration certificate for a Mercedes-Benz car was originally issued in the name of Nihal Ahmad by the Electronic City Regional Transport Office (RTO) on January 1, 2017. The invoice value of the vehicle was Rs 1,96,95,000. However, on December 24, 2024, the registration details were allegedly altered in the Mangaluru office, recording the vehicle's sale value as just Rs 32,15,000, a significant undervaluation.

As a result, disciplinary action has been taken against the three staff members, according to a suspension order issued by Transport Commissioner Yogeesh AM.

Following their suspension, Neelappa KH has been transferred to Shivamogga, Rekha Naik to Chikkamagaluru, and Saraswathi to the Bengaluru (North) office once their suspension period ends.

The action was based on an inspection by the Additional Transport Commissioner (Administration) from Bengaluru, who visited the Mangaluru office and submitted a report confirming the registration tampering of the vehicle.