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Fake contractor scam: Chandigarh Police travel to Rajasthan to recover gold chain bought using duped money
Chandigarh senior superintendent of police Kanwardeep Kaur said, “The gold chain was essential for recovery as the accused used the cheated money from victims to buy it and donate to a temple priest.”
To recover the money of fake job victims, Chandigarh Police travelled 450 km to Rajasthan’s Khatu Shyam temple to recover a 110 gm gold chain donated by Simal Khairwal, who was recently arrested for posing as a contractor.
He had bought the chain using the money obtained by duping over 400 people in Chandigarh on the pretext of providing them jobs as sanitation workers of the municipal corporation (MC).
The gold chain, worth ₹5.5 lakh, was part of the recovery effort made by local police from the main accused.
A team of police officials, along with Simal, travelled to Khatu Shyam, where he had donated the chain to the temple priest. Coordinating with Rajasthan Police, the UT police obtained permission to locate the chain within the temple premises, ultimately recovering it from the priest.
Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur said, “The gold chain was essential for recovery as the accused used the cheated money from victims to buy it and donate to a temple priest.”
Simal had fraudulently collected approximately ₹3.5 crore from his victims, out of which he paid ₹2 crore in salaries to employed workers. The remaining ₹1 crore has been recovered by the police in the form of cash, gold articles, property and luxury cars. The police have recovered ₹15 lakh in cash, two properties purchased with cheated money valued at around ₹40 lakh, and 154 gm gold jewellery.
The fake contractor targeted economically weaker sections (EWS) colonies, such as Mauli Jagran, Maloya, Dhanas and Sector 56, in Chandigarh to deploy the victims as cleanliness workers. He engaged 23 supervisors who coerced people into paying for jobs at DC rates.
Simal, a resident of Jhampur in Mohali, and a Class 9 pass-out, previously worked as a safai karamchari in the UT secretariat for seven months before resigning. He then devised a scheme to become a self-styled contractor, hiring cleanliness workers for parks and roads in various parts of the city.
Initially, joined by his close aide, Rohit, whom he appointed as a supervisor for the company “Ultimate Manpower Housekeeping,” Simal employed only 10 workers and solicited ₹5 lakh for employment at DC rates.
Simal allegedly coerced several job seekers into paying between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh since November last year, accumulating several crores. The scam is estimated to be worth more than ₹4 crore.
