Overloaded truck seized in Makhu; driver flees, RTA refutes bribery allegations
Ferozepur, March 24: Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Tushita Gulati informed that a naka (checkpoint) was set up at Makhu on the night of March 22 to carry out routine vehicle checking. During the drive, a truck bearing registration number NL02Q9967, loaded with sand (bajri), was stopped and found to be overloaded. The vehicle was challaned and subsequently impounded.
She stated that after issuing the challan, officials resumed checking other vehicles when the truck's driver fled from the spot. Despite efforts by her gunman to locate him in the nearby area, the driver could not be traced.
She further revealed that on March 23, while they were deployed on duty in view of the visit of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Ferozepur, her gunman received a threatening phone call from a person identified as Pritam Bedi. A complaint in this regard has been lodged on the emergency helpline 112.
Responding to allegations by the vehicle owner that officials had demanded a bribe and that the truck was not overloaded, Gulati categorically denied the claims. She clarified that the driver fled only because the vehicle was overloaded. “Had the truck been underloaded, it would have been taken to the police station for proper weighing. The allegations are baseless,” she asserted.