ACB books former Jr Asstt, others for alleged irregularities in Jammu RTO

Jammu, July 02: The J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against a former Junior Assistant, along with other officers and officials in the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Jammu for alleged irregularities.
The ACB in a statement issued here said it has registered a case (FIR No. 09/2024 PS ACB Jammu) under sections 13(1)(a) r/w 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and sections 120-B and 409 of the IPC against Manju Sharma, a former Junior Assistant, along with other officers and officials who were posted in the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Jammu.
“This action follows an investigation by the ACB into allegations of irregularities committed by officials of the Motor Vehicle Department in the RTO Jammu regarding the collection and deposition of passenger tax and the probable misappropriation of these funds from 2018 until the transition to online collection, pursuant to a communication dated March 6, 2023, from the General Administration Department,” the bureau said.
It added, “The verification conducted revealed that Manju Sharma, who was deputed to the Accounts Section of the Regional Transport Office, Jammu, to collect passenger tax from owners of passenger commercial vehicles during the specified period, acted dishonestly. She allegedly concealed the actual amount of passenger tax received from vehicle owners/operators by reflecting only a meagre part of the amount in the official records compared to what she collected.”
The amount reflected in the counterfoil of Government Receipts (GRs) was deposited in the government treasury, while the rest of the amount collected was misappropriated by her, the ACB said, adding that the manual cash book/day book and vehicle-wise details related to the collection and deposition of passenger tax dues during the period were not properly maintained, facilitating the embezzlement of passenger tax dues.
During the verification, it was discovered that more than 10 lakhs had been misappropriated based on a random cross-check of some copies of GRs and owners’ copies of GRs, the statement said, adding, “This amount could increase further if other discrepancies are detected during the investigation. The involvement of other officers/officials of the RTO office Jammu in abetting or facilitating the misappropriation of passenger tax during the period cannot be ruled out.”
Manju Sharma, in criminal conspiracy with other employees of the RTO office Jammu, dishonestly and fraudulently misappropriated a significant amount of passenger tax collected from various owners/operators during that period, the ACB said, adding that further investigation in the case is in progress.