3 pose as RTO officials, rob trucker on Katraj bypass

PUNE: Three people posing as regional transport officials robbed a truck driver of Rs1,500 just after midnight on Thursday.
The incident occurred on the service road of Katraj-Dehu Road bypass in Ravet.
The driver, Ashok Saste (29) of Daund, has lodged a complaint with the Dehu Road police.
Assistant sub-inspector B D Gawari said Saste was en route to Mumbai from Daund to deliver a shipment of sugar. “Around 12.30am on Thursday, Saste reached Ravet and stopped near a restaurant on the service lane to pick up the receipts of the goods from a facility on the bypass, that his transport operator had provided his drivers with, to ease any hassle” Gawari said.
While Saste was waiting for the receipts, three men approached him and claimed to be from the RTO. They told Saste that his truck was loaded beyond the permissible limit and they needed to check its weight. They told Saste to drive to a nearby weighing bridge. When he refused, they hurled abuses at him. “One of them snatched Rs1,500 from Saste’s pocket and fled the spot,” Gawari said.
Police have registered an offence under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. “According to Saste’s description, the suspect sported a French beard. We have launched a hunt for the trio,” Gawari said.