UPI fraud by BMTC conductors casts shadow over ‘Shakti’ scheme

Bengaluru : The ‘Shakti’ scheme, one of the flagship initiatives of the Congress-led Karnataka government aimed at empowering women through free bus travel, has come under a cloud following shocking allegations of financial misconduct by a section of BMTC conductors.

While crores of women passengers are benefitting from the scheme, some “rogue” conductors are allegedly cheating both passengers and the transport corporation by diverting money meant for BMTC into their personal bank accounts.

To facilitate cashless transactions and improve passenger convenience, BMTC had installed official UPI scanners in its buses. However, investigations have revealed that certain conductors deliberately removed these official scanners and replaced them with their own personal UPI QR codes.

Unsuspecting passengers, especially those unfamiliar with Kannada, were allegedly misled into scanning these personal QR codes, resulting in payments being credited directly to the conductors’ private accounts.

According to officials, the conductors exploited the fact that Shakti scheme tickets are printed only in Kannada, with no English mention of “free ticket.” Taking advantage of this, they allegedly collected money from non-Kannada-speaking passengers, including migrants from North and South India, despite issuing free Shakti tickets.

In several cases, passengers were told to pay via UPI, only to later realise that the payment had not gone to BMTC. Security checks conducted by BMTC officials following complaints exposed the scale of the scam.

More than ten conductors have reportedly been caught so far, with preliminary findings showing that each of them had collected over ₹50,000 from passengers through their personal UPI accounts. Investigators believe the actual amount could be higher, as the malpractice may have been going on for weeks.

Sources said the modus operandi involved conductors removing the official BMTC UPI scanner as soon as the bus left the depot. When passengers requested digital payment options, the conductors produced their own mobile phones and asked them to scan personal QR codes. This ensured that the transactions bypassed the BMTC system entirely.

BMTC security officials have submitted a detailed report on the matter to Managing Director Shivakumar. The corporation is now under pressure to initiate strict disciplinary action against the accused staff to prevent further damage to its credibility.

Reacting to the incident, passenger Manjunath said such conductors should be immediately dismissed from service. “They are betraying public trust and misusing a welfare scheme meant for women,” he said.

If BMTC fails to act decisively against those misusing the Shakti scheme and indulging in UPI fraud, transport officials fear that more conductors may be tempted to follow the same path, undermining both public confidence and the integrity of a key welfare programme.

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