Mumbai, May 27 -- The Maharashtra government has decided to set up division-wise Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to crack down on the large-scale issuance of illegal licences and permits to autorickshaw and taxi operators, particularly in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), according to officials aware of the developments. The decision was taken on Monday after preliminary inquiries revealed that thousands of driving licences were issued to auto and taxi operators based on forged documents generated by a "licence mafia" allegedly operating in connivance with government officials. The SITs for the state's six administrative divisions-Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati, and Nagpur-will be headed by the divisional commissioners, with regional transport office (RTO) officials and police officers as members, said an official. The SITs will focus on MMR, where most of these irregularities occur due to the high rate of migration, the official added. The racket surfaced after complaints by BJP MLA Narendra Mehta from Mira-Bhayandar in April. The police in Mira-Bhayandar recently booked 27 people for allegedly forging documents to obtain driving licences and auto and taxi permits. The accused allegedly used forged ration cards, domicile certificates and Aadhaar-linked address proofs to obtain permits and licences from the Mira-Bhayander RTO. Police investigations found that the accused used a single ration card number and manipulated supporting documents to falsely establish local residency. Preliminary reports sought by the transport department from RTOs across the state brought several similar cases to light, especially in MMR. "In Wadala, over 2,000 licences and permits were issued using the address of a mosque. Similarly, over 100 permits and licences, along with domicile certificates, were issued using the same address in a house in a Ghatkopar slum," said an official. The transport department has now decided to initiate a multi-department probe. "Domicile certificates issued by the revenue department are often based on ration cards issued by the food and civil supplies department. Permits also require character certificates issued by local police stations after verification of credentials. However, police often issue such certificates based only on an existing address. In some cases, character certificates were issued to people who migrated to the city only a few months ago. Similarly, fake ration cards form the basis of domicile certificates," said an official....