PANAJI
In what could expose yet another scam in Goa Police with the spotlight this time on some Traffic Cells, e-challan machines -- entrusted to specific officials -- are mysteriously making appearances on multiple devices and at different locations, all at the same time.
The alleged gross illegality appears to be widespread in the coastal area, particularly along the crowded Calangute belt.
Sources told The Goan that the software developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which is working under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, reportedly contains exploitable vulnerabilities, which certain traffic officials are taking advantage of.
“In one of the loopholes, the same user ID can be logged on multiple devices at the same time, even if these are taken to different locations within the State,” an official said.
What’s interesting is that while officials from the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector and above are authorised to use the e-challans machines, these are instead being commonly operated by constables or hawaldars.
In one such instance, former Superintendent of Police Bossuet Silva noticed discrepancies during an inspection from Saligao to Calangute earlier this year. Sources said that a constable was caught using the e-challan machine with an ASI’s log-in ID even though the latter was not present on duty. This raised suspicion as the ASI appeared to be at multiple places simultaneously, through multiple log-ins on multiple devices.
An inquiry was initiated by Traffic Police Inspector Sachin Narvekar, on directions of the superior.
This incident, however, is just one of several allegations of similar frauds ongoing within the traffic cells, if not all. “This modus operandi might also be an attempt to extort money from violators. Commuters who wish to avoid official challans for their offenses are allegedly being let off the hook after making cash payments,” another official revealed.
This alleged scam follows closely after policemen and a home guard at Colva were caught asking traffic violators to pay challans through G-pay at a wine store nearby. This expose by The Goan last month prompted immediate action by the superiors in the department.
