Mumbai: Cops bust busload of passengers with fake COVID-19 negative certificates in Mira Road; 38 booked

Two travel agents mid-day spoke to promised to arrange fake COVID-19 negative test reports

The Mira Road police have seized a bus ferrying passengers to Surat with fake COVID negative certificates. The cops have booked 38 people, including the bus owner, two drivers, a cleaner and two agents, for flouting rules.

The bus, seized by the police on Tuesday, was headed for Surat, Gujarat, with 32 passengers

Amidst a second wave of coronavirus, the Gujarat government has made a COVID negative report mandatory for those arriving from Maharashtra. As too many people are trying to leave Mumbai, bus operators are resorting to all sorts of unscrupulous practices to make money, said the police.

The Unit 1 of Kashimira-Bhayander Crime Branch intercepted a Pavan Travels bus with registration number GJ-14-Z4590 outside Mira Road police station on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad road in the early hours of Tuesday. It had 32 passengers on board.

"We recovered fake RT-PCR reports issued by three laboratories from 20 passengers. The remaining 12 travellers said they had been charged R300-R500 in the name of fake certificates but were issued nothing," said a police officer.

The police said the bus operates between Mumbai and Surat every day and is owned by one Hitesh Bhai. The cops said the fake reports had been arranged by Sandeep, a manager with Pavan Travels, and a few employees of Neeta Travels. "In total, 38 people were booked. The passengers were released after being served with notices," said an officer from the Kashimira police station. The drivers have been identified as 35-year-olds Deepsingh Chauhan and Devisingh Chavda, while cleaner has been named as Jitendra Singh Chauhan, 29. All face action under the Disaster Management 2005 Act, COVID-19 Remedy Scheme 2020 and the Infectious Diseases Prevention Act, 1897.

Reality check

Despite action against Pavan Travels, there was no fear of crackdown, mid-day found. This correspondent met a few agents booking tickets for Gujarat and Rajasthan, at Borivli East near SGNP. When sought 3 tickets, the agents demanded Rs 1,200-Rs 1,500 for each passenger and an additional Rs 500 per person to arrange negative RT-PCR reports.

"It's all about setting. Even people with genuine negative reports are stuck at the border. Whether you carry a negative report or not, not a single bus can enter Gujarat without paying bribes," said an agent.