Bengaluru: Keralam-registered tourist buses allegedly pay monthly bribes of up to Rs 30,000 to cross the Attibele checkpost on Hosur Road and operate in Karnataka without facing enforcement action, according to a complaint alleging a nexus between middlemen and transport department officials.Karnataka State Travel Operators Association president S Nataraj Sharma has filed a complaint seeking an independent investigation into the suspected involvement of regional transport office (RTO) officials and motor vehicle inspectors in the alleged racket.The complaint alleges that bus operators transferred between Rs 16,000 and Rs 30,000 every month through UPI to a private intermediary to facilitate the movement of their buses in Karnataka. The allegations reportedly surfaced in the ‘Bus Owners of India’ WhatsApp group during discussions on the All India Tourist Permit and alleged harassment by enforcement authorities.One operator allegedly claimed to have paid Rs 26,000 a month to facilitate the movement of his buses from Attibele towards Devanahalli. He reportedly shared screenshots of the payments and alleged that a woman RTO official in Devanahalli continued to harass operators despite the payments.Another operator allegedly said he paid around Rs 30,000 per bus every month. According to his claim, buses whose operators refused to pay the intermediary risked being detained and taken to an RTO office, where they could be asked to pay substantial amounts towards taxes and other dues.A third operator reportedly said he paid around Rs 16,000 a month to cross the Attibele border.Sharma alleged that a person identified as Guru, whom he claimed was related to RTO officials, collected around Rs 30,000 a month from operators through Google Pay, assuring them that they would not have to pay taxes to the state government.He further alleged that officials at RTOs, including those in Electronics City and Devanahalli, received Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 every month from each operator. Complaints had been submitted to the Lokayukta and senior transport department officials, he said.Transport commissioner R Selvamani said he had instructed the additional commissioner to examine the complaint.Transport operators have previously demanded the removal of checkposts across Karnataka, alleging that they are used to extract money from interstate operators. Truck drivers recently protested against alleged demands for bribes and harassment by RTO officials and police at the Zalki checkpost in Vijayapura district.
