The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) asked the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to verify the authenticity of the driver’s license issued to fugitive Indian national Joginder Geong, who also uses the name “Kant Gupta.”

LTO-Bacolod Licensing Center chief Joseph Danoy received the BCPO request for verification yesterday, said police city director Colonel Noel Aliño.

In the letter addressed to Danoy, Lt. Colonel Joery Puerto, chief of BCPO City Investigation and Detective Management Unit, sought the assistance of the LTO in verifying the authenticity of the driver’s license it supposedly issued to the fugitive from India.

The verification came after Geong, 40, involved in a string of criminal offenses in India, was arrested in a joint police operation at his rented residence in Santa Lucia Gardens Subdivision, Barangay Taculing in the city on July 8.

He is currently under the custody of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Geong, who is using a fake Nepalese passport under the name “Kant Gupta,” was found possessing a driver’s license under the same name, showing that his nationality is Filipino.

The driver’s license, with an expiration date of November 11, 2026, also indicates a different address, which is 132 Zircon St., City Heights Subdivision, also in Barangay Taculing.

“In the interest of upholding the integrity of official documents and ensuring public safety, we kindly request that you verify the authenticity of this driver’s license and confirm whether it was duly issued by your office. Your prompt response will significantly aid our ongoing investigation,” Puerto further said in the letter request.

The authorities launched the operation to arrest Geong after the BI Fugitive Search Unit received a communication from First Secretary Nilesh Kumar Rai of the Embassy of India in Manila on June 22, requesting the arrest and deportation of Geong, who leads an organized crime syndicate and has a life imprisonment sentence for violating arms laws in India. (PNA)