Four arrested for manipulating weighbridges

Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, May 28

The police here have arrested four swindlers, who allegedly used to maneuver the weight of goods loaded on trucks with the help of remote controlled chips fitted to weighbridges.

The accused have been identified as Sonu Kumar, a resident of Adarsh ??Nagar in Balongi, Mohali; Manoj Gupta, a resident of Mohali; Raj Kumar, a resident of Banur; and Vipan Kumar, alias Happy, resident of Dera Bassi.

Addressing the media, SP Jagjit Singh said acting on a tip-off, a CIA team from Sirhind intercepted a canter with registration No. PB-03-AZ-0621. On checking, it was found that the vehicle was carrying 21 tonne of iron scrap while on the receipts the weight of the scrap was shown as 72.30 quintal only.

The police also intercepted a Skoda car – CH-03-Y-0150 – piloting the canter.

The team was led by DSP Raghbir Singh and Inspector Gabbar Singh, said Jagjit Singh.

During preliminary investigation it has come to light that the accused used to fit a remote-controlled electronic chip to the weighbridge to tamper with the actual reading of the machine, said the SP.

He informed that they had fitted the chip to the weighbridge at Chandigarh Distilleries and Bottlers Ltd.

The contract for iron and scrap in the distillery is with Manoj Gupta, who has employed Sonu Kumar as driver of his canter,

Whenever the canter or truck used to climb on to the weighbridge, Kumar used to manage the weight with the help of the remote control.

The officer said the chips were brought by Raj Kumar and Vipin Kumar from Delhi and the two used to get Rs 500 per tonne

The accused had been defrauding the company for a long time, said Jagjit Singh.

He further said the accused also installed these chips on several other weighbridges in various towns of the state.

The accused will be presented in the court and thorough investigation will be initiated after obtaining the police remand, said the officer.