In a major clampdown on administrative corruption surrounding seized contraband vehicles, the Economic Offences Unit in Bihar has arrested Motor Vehicles Inspector Sunil Kumar Singh. The enforcement agency took Singh, who is currently stationed in Gaya, into custody over allegations stemming from his earlier posting in Gopalganj. Investigators revealed that the officer submitted an official valuation report for a seized liquor-laden SUV without carrying out mandatory physical inspections. Following detailed interrogation, the investigating agency presented him before a competent court, which remanded him to judicial custody in jail.
Origin in Gopalganj Sidhwalia Police Station Case
The origins of the fraudulent evaluation trace back to an enforcement action registered as Sidhwalia Police Station case number 125/2020 in Gopalganj district. Police personnel had intercepted and impounded an SUV transporting illegal liquor consignments in violation of the state prohibition laws. Following the seizure, administrative protocols were initiated to put the impounded vehicle up for government auction. Sunil Kumar Singh was posted as the Motor Vehicles Inspector in Gopalganj at that time, making him directly responsible for carrying out technical assessments and fixing the baseline reserve price for the vehicle.
Valuation Report Submitted Without Physical Verification
Departmental rules require an inspecting officer to visually examine the impounded vehicle, verify mechanical integrity, and inspect chassis markings before recommending a valuation for an official auction. Investigators found that Singh cleared the valuation documentation without conducting any physical verification on the ground. His formal submission listed the vehicle registration as BR06PD-9070 alongside a minimum base price for the bidding process. Crucially, the inspector omitted vital identification parameters by leaving out both the engine number and the chassis number from the official assessment records.
Discrepancies in Registration and Chassis Identifiers
Subsequent forensic scrutiny into the auction paperwork exposed glaring discrepancies between the vehicle's physical reality and the paperwork submitted to the auction committee. Independent verification of the seized vehicle's physical engine and chassis stamps demonstrated that its correct registration number should have been JH01-7840. The arbitrary substitution with registration number BR06PD-9070, paired with the calculated omission of chassis and engine data, indicated deliberate wrongdoing rather than an oversight. These findings prompted the Economic Offences Unit to initiate criminal action, though all charges remain subject to formal judicial trial.
Prior Arrests of Investigating Officer, Clerk, and Data Operator
The Motor Vehicles Inspector is not the sole accused in the fraudulent auction ring; three other individuals were taken into custody earlier during the investigation. The probe previously resulted in the arrest and jailing of the original case investigating officer Sub-Inspector Rajendra Ram, then clerk Kanhaiya Lal, and data entry operator Haider Ali Ansari. With Singh's arrest, the Economic Offences Unit is widening its review of case documents, paperwork approvals, and auction procedures to determine whether similar illegal vehicle substitutions were executed in other prohibition seizure auctions.
