Fake documents trail: How a Benz registration scam slipped through RTO loopholes

In a shocking twist to the high-end car registration scam, fresh documents accessed by NewsFirst Prime reveal how fake papers were used to register a luxury Mercedes-Benz G-63 under false pretexts, raising serious questions about procedural lapses at multiple Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Karnataka.

Also Read:Exclusive: A luxury car scam across states: Benz, fake docs, and a Bengaluru climax

According to an exclusive letter written by the Bengaluru Transport Commissioner’s office, the accused, identified as Neeraj Kumar Sharma, manipulated the original sale amount and modified the vehicle’s make, changing a Mercedes G-63 to appear as a Mercedes GLA-12. He then obtained a forged ‘Road-Worthiness Certificate’ (Form 22) to support his application.

Armed with these altered documents, Neeraj approached the Mangaluru RTO, citing a 2019 court order to justify the need for registration. The application included critical vehicle details like chassis and engine numbers. As per procedure, the Mangaluru RTO verified these numbers on the national e-Vahan portal. Finding no immediate discrepancies in the system, they printed the verification and escalated it to the Transport Commissioner’s office in Shantinagar, Bengaluru.

The Commissioner, Mallikarjun, directed Mangaluru officials to proceed with registration only after verifying the vehicle’s details and the court order. However, Neeraj allegedly bypassed this by rerouting his request to the Udupi RTO instead of Mangaluru. Udupi officials, ignoring the letter which clearly mentioned Mangaluru as the designated office, registered the luxury car without adequate verification, an act now under scrutiny.

Sources say the accused exploited system loopholes and inter-office miscommunication to get the registration done under false pretenses.