The Telegraph report published on March 8

Raid on touts

The Telegraph report published on March 8

Smita Kumar

Patna, March 9: A day after The Telegraph exposé on the racket that deals in key documents such as birth certificates, the administration today launched a crackdown against the touts and razed the makeshift kiosks around the collectorate

The Telegraph, over the past three weeks, has reported how a racket has flourished over the years in the collectorate area where one can even “buy” a fake birth certificate for as low as Rs 180.

Even genuine ones, as reported by The Telegraph on March 8, can be procured in the names of fictitious persons, never mind they resemble those of the chief minister and his family members.

However, no one was arrested during today’s raid — carried out by a team led by Patna Sadar subdivisional officer Maqsood Mohammed Alam, a day after district magistrate N. Saravana Kumar promised “secret” action against the racketeers.

Stalls — considered a haven for touts — selling tea, cigarettes and even barbers’ shops were removed during the raid.