Mauganj, carved out as a separate district about two-and-a-half years ago, has repeatedly drawn attention for the wrong reasons. Although the transport department maintains that all services have moved online and checkposts exist only on paper, the ground reality suggests a parallel system operating openly at the district’s border points.

In the most recent incident on January 16, a truck driver recorded a video showing men dressed in police-like uniforms demanding money at the Hanumana border around noon. When the driver refused, he was allegedly threatened with being beaten “20 times with sticks,” verbally abused, and prevented from leaving after his truck keys were taken. The individuals seen in the video have been identified by drivers as local RTO brokers, while a transport guard was also present at the spot.

This was not an isolated episode. On December 19, 2025, another video surfaced showing an alleged RTO agent clinging to a moving truck after attempting to threaten the driver. The truck dragged him for nearly three kilometres before stopping. Earlier, on November 4, 2025, a driver was beaten for refusing to make a cash payment and offering instead to pay online. When members of the drivers’ union later arrived to lodge a protest, they too were allegedly assaulted.

Drivers have also accused officials of destroying evidence. On November 16, 2024, a truck conductor’s mobile phone was allegedly snatched and broken when he tried to record an altercation at the same checkpost.

Rajkumar Vishwakarma, president of the Mauganj Drivers’ Association, alleged that the extortion network operates round-the-clock with the tacit support of certain officials. “Four or five men with sticks stand in the middle of the road, faces covered. Uniformed staff remain at a distance and do nothing. Poor drivers from other states pay out of fear and move on,” he said.

Administrative action so far appears limited. In the past month, two transport officers have been transferred, but drivers say the collection continues unchanged. Vishwakarma questioned how such activity could persist “24 hours a day, 365 days a year” without protection from influential quarters.

Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Soni said that an FIR was registered last month following a complaint and assured that action would be taken in future cases as per law. However, with repeated incidents and mounting evidence, the continued operation of illegal checkposts has intensified scrutiny of both the transport department and local policing.