Man forgets driving licence in car, held for smuggling

AGRA: A placement agency owner suddenly found himself branded a “liquor smuggler” with a non-bailable warrant issued against him after Agra police, investigating the liquor tragedy in the city and adjoining areas, arrested him and sent him to jail . His fault was that he had forgotten to take out the photocopies of his driving licence from the dashboard of the car he sold to a resale company.

A probe has been ordered and the investigating cop suspended. Kamalveer Singh from Faridabad, who owns a placement agency in New Delhi, sold his car to a resale company in October 2013. The resale firm further sold the vehicle to one Mohd Kamil from Sector 16 of Faridabad district in February 2014. On November 10, 2014, Agra cops recovered liquor made in Haryana from the same car which was purchased by Mohd Kamil. Those who were driving the car, ditched it and fled from the spot.

The excise department officials lodged an FIR for liquor smuggling at Lohamandi police station. The cops, while searching the car found the photocopies of the DL, a passport and the first registration papers of the car in Singh’s name.

Instead of verifying the ownership of the car, Lohamandi constable Uday Prakash Singh Rathore (who was handling the case) filed a chargesheet in the case and got an NBW from district court against Kamalveer Singh. The cop them reached to Singh’s house and arrested him for “smuggling illegal liquor”.

Singh’s pleas went unheard and he cooled his heels in jail for three days.Once out of jail, he contacted DM Pankaj Kumar and SSP Rajesh Modal.SP, city, RK Singh said that an inquiry has been ordered into the matter. Constable Uday Prakash Singh Rathore was suspended on Monday.