UP STF busts fake cross-border bus permit racket on India-Nepal route; 2 held

Lucknow (UP), Oct 13 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two members of a gang allegedly involved in operating international passenger buses between India and Nepal using forged permits, officials said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Ram Prasad, a resident of Janakpuri, New Delhi, and Bale Thapa alias Bal Kishan, a resident of PWD Colony, Kohima, Nagaland.

According to the STF, Ram Prasad was arrested near the Baghwani Bhawan gate in New Delhi around 12.15 am on the intervening night of October 12 and 13, while Thapa, the bus driver, was detained from the Kisan Path area in Lucknow.

During the operation, the STF recovered 11 forged India-Nepal travel permits, a laptop, three mobile phones, and a Tata Motors bus (UP 81 CT 4920) allegedly used for illegal cross-border operations, officials said.

The crackdown followed an investigation based on a complaint by the Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO), Aligarh, regarding the illegal operation of buses on the Indo-Nepal route using fake permits. The case was initially registered at the Banna Devi police station in Aligarh.

The probe, headed by Additional Superintendent of Police (STF) Lal Pratap Singh, revealed that the accused were running a travel agency named Chacha-Chachi Travels and had purchased a second-hand bus in February 2024. The accused admitted to fabricating digital copies of "special permits" by manipulating genuine Regional Transport Office (RTO) documents to include the Nepal route, bypassing the official clearance process from the Nepal Embassy or consulate, officials mentioned.

"The accused confessed that due to lengthy formalities and strict regulations for obtaining official cross-border permits, they forged the documents to continue the bus service between Delhi and Nepal," the STF said in a statement.

Ram Prasad told investigators that his wife, Usha, owned the bus, while his son, Milan Sharma alias Saroj, and driver Thapa were active participants in the illegal operation, the STF said, adding that the electronic devices recovered from the accused have been sent for forensic examination.

The arrested duo has been booked under BNS provisions for cheating, forgery of documents, among others, in the ongoing case registered in Aligarh, and further investigation is underway, the STF added.

In July this year, erstwhile UP transport commissioner Brajesh Narain Singh wrote to Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna, apprising him of fraudulent Indo-Nepal bus operations by some operators and requesting a detailed investigation by the STF.

Singh also took up the matter with the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, recommending corrective steps to "reconfigure the faceless permit system" in compliance with applicable legal and international norms. PTI KIS ARB MPL MPL