LUCKNOW, Nov. 26 -- The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force's (STF) crackdown on the truck overloading racket has triggered a wave of sudden leave applications across the transport and mining departments. The development raises suspicions that several officials are attempting to evade the ongoing investigation, informed senior STF officials, adding that the STF has now placed all such officials who disappeared from duty recently, under the scanner. According to officials, the exodus began soon after the agency lodged FIRs (first information report) across Lucknow, Fatehpur, Unnao and Rae Bareli on November 12, exposing a deep-rooted nexus between department officials and middlemen who allegedly cleared overloaded mineral-laden trucks in exchange for hefty cash payments. They said that multiple assistant regional transport officers (ARTOs), enforcement staff and mining department officials-many of whom were directly involved in vehicle checking or mineral movement-went on medical or casual leave within days of the crackdown. "Their sudden absence has not only disrupted departmental functioning but also intensified STF suspicion. Several officers are reportedly unreachable, with their phones switched off, making it difficult for investigators to question them or verify their location," they stated.. An STF officer privy to the investigation said that detailed reports of each officer's leave, conduct and past postings have been sought from departmental authorities. The investigators believe that many among the leave-takers may hold crucial information-or may themselves be beneficiaries-of the illegal overloading network. Prior to the leave wave, the STF had filed FIRs naming key officials across multiple districts. These include Lucknow's ARTO Raju Bansal, passenger tax officer Manoj Bhardwaj, and seven others in the FIR lodged at Madiaon police station, and Fatehpur's district mining officer Deshraj Patel and five associates were booked in the FIR registered with Thariaon police station. Similarly, Unnao's transport and mining staff were linked to illicit truck movement in the FIR lodged with city Kotwali there as well as ARTO (Fatehpur) Pushpanjali and 10 others were named in the FIR registered with Lalganj police station of Rae Bareli. The STF's preliminary findings reveal that middlemen collected around Rs.7,000 per overloaded truck, of which Rs.5,000 allegedly went to officials in the transport and mining departments. Truck numbers, payments and movement schedules were reportedly shared with officials a night in advance, ensuring that the overloaded vehicles passed without any checking or challan. The racket spanned a vast corridor-from Banda and Hamirpur to Lucknow-operating as a multi-crore cash-based parallel revenue system. Sources say the quantum of illegal transactions suggests involvement beyond district-level staff. There is growing speculation that the STF may expand the investigation to include senior officials who might have facilitated or overlooked the racket. The crackdown, officials say, is part of a broader push to dismantle organised corruption within the state's transport and mining corridors. "Those who think that going on leave will shield them, are mistaken. Every officer will be questioned," the special task force official said, hinting that more action and arrests were imminent....