Large-Scale Extortion Uncovered on Kaushambi Highway, Several Officials Suspected

Extortion busted on highway: In Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district, the Anti-Corruption team caught a TSI (Transportation Sub-Inspector) extorting money from vehicles three days ago. This led to the uncovering of a large-scale extortion racket. Police, Mining, and Transport department officials had agents on the highway who would extort money from vehicles, with a daily collection of around 10-15 lakh rupees.

The Anti-Corruption team arrested TSI Kamlesh Pandey while he was extorting money from vehicles on the highway in Kaushambi, leading to the uncovering of a large-scale extortion racket. The racket was so rampant that around 10-15 lakh rupees were extorted daily from vehicles on the highway. Police, Transport, and Mining department officials were also involved in this racket. Senior officials were stunned when they learned about this racket. SP Brijesh Srivastava has formed a team to investigate the matter. The District Magistrate of Kaushambi has taken the matter seriously and warned that anyone involved in the racket will not be spared and action will be taken against them.

Extortion was done from vehicles carrying gravel, sand, and stones
Extortion busted on highway: Around 300 large vehicles carrying gravel, sand, and stones pass through the highway in Kaushambi every day. Most of these vehicles are overloaded. The extortionists would charge 5000 rupees per vehicle as a “toll” at a fixed rate. Some vehicles even had a fixed monthly “fee” to be allowed to ply overloaded.

Many agents were involved in the racket

Several agents were involved in getting overloaded vehicles cleared by the authorities. Their modus operandi was to “settle” with regular vehicles and get their entries cleared by the police, transport, and mining departments. After that, officials from these departments would not stop these vehicles. After the TSI’s arrest, the agents are now trying to distance themselves from the government officials involved in the racket.