Driver or broker? Costly mix-up exposes licence racket

A broker’s mistake has exposed “a system of bribery” at a driving licence test centre in Dhaka, after a candidate who refused to pay was mistakenly handed the learner card of another person who had allegedly paid Tk4,000 to secure a pass.

Abidul Islam (pseudonym), a media worker, went to the Joar Shahara driving licence test centre in the capital on Sunday to sit for his motorcycle field test. He failed to complete the test successfully, but a broker, identified as Md Jahid, offered him a certificate in exchange for Tk4,000.

Abidul declined the offer. He was instead sent away with a learner card stamped to indicate that he had to retake the test. It was only later that Jahid realised he had made a mistake. The learner card he had handed Abidul actually belonged to another candidate who had allegedly paid the Tk4,000 bribe, while Abidul’s card had been mistakenly treated as that of a paying client.

Jahid subsequently called Abidul and asked him to return the learner card.

The Daily Sun obtained a recording of the conversation, in which Jahid is heard demanding Tk4,000 through bKash. “Please send me Tk4,000 via bKash. Your entry as a successful candidate has already been made. We cannot reverse the decision now. Return the learner card you took from me,” he said.

When Abidul insisted that he would not pay and would instead sit for the test again, Jahid allegedly replied, “If you don’t pay, you cannot pass the exam, however good a driver you are. The whole system of taking the examination is designed this way. One in a thousand passes the test. Everyone pays for the driving field test.”

When contacted by the Daily Sun over the phone, Jahid also admitted demanding Tk4,000 from Abidul. He said he had wanted to help Abidul because, given his current driving skills, he would not be able to pass the test. 

Jahid also told the Daily Sun that the money would be channelled to the BRTA’s Mirpur divisional office.

Contacted about the allegation, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Assistant Director Ziaur Rahman said Jahid was not a BRTA employee. “Jahid is not our staff. He may be a staff member of the BRTC. I am looking into the matter. I was not in the office at the time. I will interrogate him,” he said. Officials of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), however, confirmed that Jahid is a driver posted at the training centre.

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Chairman Abdul Latif Mollah said he had ordered an investigation into the matter. “I have already instructed my depot manager to investigate the matter. I can assure you that I will take action from my side. However, BRTA also needs to look into the anomalies, as the issuance of driving licences is entirely its responsibility,” he said.

Abidul said he had been driving for at least a year but found the motorcycle field test difficult because the motorcycles being used at the centre were, in his view, unfit for driving. “When I went to the field, I saw nobody successfully completing the manoeuvres on the motorcycles, which were not fit for driving,” he said.  Jahid told Abidul that he was a trainer or instructor – a position held by drivers with special certification. When questioned about the alleged payment, he admitted asking for money, Abidul said.

“He said that as I wanted to know about the process, he had simply told me to obtain it. He said I could get the licence if I paid,” Abidul said.

Jahid also allegedly told him that the money was channelled to the Mirpur divisional office through a broker syndicate, and that neither BRTA inspector Ziauddin nor Assistant Director Ziaur Rahman received any of it.