A motor vehicle inspector with the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) has been suspended after the transport department found him guilty of illegally clearing 74 vehicles for renewal of fitness certificate without adequate checks. The 74 automobiles were all public transport vehicles. This came to light after Pune-based businessman and activist Shrikant Karve, 63, moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Bombay High Court in 2013. The incident dates back to the same year, when the accused, Dilip Mane, was posted in Solapur. According to Karve, Mane had claimed to check around 200 vehicles in a single day — an impossible number to cover for a single vehicle inspector. As many as 74 of these were public transport vehicles that he cleared without checking compliance. The high court came down heavily on the transport department for the fraud, following which, a notification was issued on November 14 announcing the suspension of Mane.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway