Bargarh: Police Tuesday arrested a man for posing as a Regional Traffic Officer (RTO) and duping vehicle owners in Bargarh district.
The accused imposter has been identified as Bikram Behera.
According to a source, Behera usually targeted vehicle owners commuting on the NH. He would stop vehicles, introducing him as regional transport officer (RTO). He would collect information about the owners of the vehicles from the drivers. Then he would contact the owners over phone, asking them to make a PhonePay payment for the challan amount to avoid action.
He ran out of luck when Sailesh Ram, a truck driver duped by Behera came across the real RTO Monday. After hearing everything from Sailesh Ram, the real RTO informed the police who immediately formed a team and laid a trap for Behera. Concealing identities, a policeman talked to Behera, asking him to come to a location to collect the rest amount of the fine from Ram. And Behera took the bait and was nabbed.
A pistol and a bike have been seized from his possession.
A detailed investigation is underway, it was learnt.
PNN