The matter was first brought to the notice of the police by Metropolitan Magistrate Bharat Parashar, in whose court a number of traffic violation cases are heard. The MM observed that in a number of cases, the vehicles had fake permits and fitness certificates.

Following this, a special team was constituted under Inspector Subey Ram Yadav, under the over-all supervision of ACP Shiv Dutt Sharma. They discovered that the gang was operating outside the Burari Transport Authority office. Subsequently, touts Bishamber Singh, Manohar Singh and Sharvan Singh were arrested.

They allegedly confessed to the police that they approached vehicle owners outside the Burari Transport Authority office and promised to get them a fitness certificate within a day. They charged between Rs 800 to Rs 1,200 for their services.

After collecting the cash, the touts procured blank fitness forms from Rajesh Kumar Rana, a Home Guard working in the same office. It was easy for him to get the forms as the drawer they were in was never locked. For his services, Rana was paid Rs 400 per form.

As the three touts could not write in English, they got the job done through another tout -- Kishan Kumar alias Hanuman, a Tagore Garden resident. He was paid Rs 100 per form. The fitness certificate was now ready for use.

According to the police, the gang issued more than 100 forged certificates within a five-month period between January and April 1998. Their total earnings from this operation were close to Rs 1 lakh.