TIRUCHY: Thanjavur RTO driver and his friend were arrested on Saturday for impersonating transport officials and conning a lorry driver of Rs 16,500.

A couple of days ago, Bharathi Lawrence (32), from Iluppapattu in Mayiladuthurai, along with Rakesh (20), from Nannilam in Tiruvarur, was transporting blue metal in a lorry from Pudukkottai to Nannilam.

Two persons who came by a car on the Thanjavur-Pudukkottai national highway intercepted the lorry and, claiming to be officials from RTO, conducted an inquiry. They also inquired about the transport permit and ID proofs of both Bharathi Lawrence and Rakesh.

Soon, the lorry driver Bharathi Lawrence asked the duo to show their ID cards, but the duo snatched away an amount of Rs 16,500 from Bharathi Lawrence and escaped.

Subsequently, Bharathi Lawrence filed a complaint with the Tamil University police on Friday and produced the video that was recorded by the cleaner, Rakesh.

The police, who registered a case, conducted an investigation in which they identified the accused as Vivekanandan (49), driver of Thanjavur RTO, and Madhavan (39), his friend. On Saturday, the police arrested the duo and lodged them in prison.