Guwahati, Oct. 11: A traffic police constable who gets a monthly salary of less than Rs 20,000 owns four cars, four buses, a private English-medium school and other property worth over Rs 4 crore.

Sikandar Ali, a traffic constable with Jalukbari police station here, had allegedly “amassed the huge property” not with his salary but by illegally collecting fines from traffic norm violators in the city by issuing duplicate receipts.

Ali, 40, was arrested last night by a police team here from near his home at Kumlipara village under Howly police station in Barpeta district, about 120km from here. Halema Ahmed, proprietor of a printing press Tasim Graphics in Barpeta, where Ali printed the duplicate receipts, was also arrested.

“The investigation so far revealed that Ali used to print duplicate receipts of the original ones which are normally issued by Guwahati traffic police to collect fines from traffic norms violators. So far it has come to light that he owns seven or eight cars, an English-medium school and an NGO named Ma Paran in Barpeta which he had acquired with the money he had collected through such illegal means. We are investigating if he was collecting the money alone or some other traffic police personnel were also involved,” additional superintendent of police, crime unit of Guwahati police, Amitava Sinha, told The Telegraph here today.

Ali and Ahmed were today produced in the court of Kamrup (metro) chief judicial magistrate here and remanded in seven-day police custody. Ali had been absconding since a case (134/2014) was registered here at Panbazar police station in April this year based on an internal inquiry by traffic police department.

“Based on a complaint, the traffic department conducted an inquiry and got evidence against him. Accordingly, a case was registered and Ali was arrested on April 11 this year. But he was released as he had already obtained anticipatory bail from Gauhati High Court on the condition that he would assist in police investigation. But his bail was cancelled on May 15 after we complained to the high court that Ali was not assisting in our investigation. He again moved the court seeking bail, but the court gave a ruling against him based on our evidence about his involvement in the illegal act,” Sinha said.

Sources suspected that some other police personnel were also involved in the crime. “Investigations so far revealed that he had amassed property worth over Rs 4 crore and we are scrutinising his bank accounts and other details for further investigation,” another police source said.