Man duped of ₹36L by conmen with promise of job

Vikhroli police filed a case against 13 people for duping a resident of ₹36 lakh under the guise of securing a railway job with fake documents.

MUMBAI: The Vikhroli police have registered a case against 13 persons, including a few workers of a political party, for allegedly duping a Vikhroli resident of 36 lakh on the pretext of providing him a job in the Indian RailwayS.

Man duped of ₹36L by conmen with promise of job

The suspects had allegedly given bogus appointment letters to the complainant, assuring him that he could soon join. According to police, the complainant, Akash Gagat, 34, who lives in Tagore Nagar area in Vikhroli East, had approached the Vikhroli court and based on the court order, FIR was registered against the accused under section 420 (cheating) 465 (forgery) 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal code.

The complainant alleged that he was introduced with one of the accused, Vivek Singh, through a school friend in 2020. Singh allegedly offered to help the complainant get a railway job through a friend who had contacts in Delhi. He also said the total expenses for getting him the job of a ticket collector will be around 37 lakh. Singh also said that if he invests money in the friend’s business, he could earn huge profits. The complainant invested ₹3.62 lakh between August 2020 to February 2021 by transferring money to Singh and two of his friends’ bank accounts, according to the FIR.

In December 2022, when the complainant asked about the job, Singh gave him a colour xerox copy of an ‘appointment letter’ with his photo and name mentioned on it. When he asked for the original letter, the accused said that it would come soon. From January 2022, Singh even started depositing money in the complainant’s bank account saying that he was getting part of the salary. From November 2022, the money stopped coming and Singh also stopped responding to the complainant’s calls and messages. On investigating, the complainant found out that the appointment letter was fake, and that he was duped.

“A case has been registered, and we have conducted an inquiry. But, no one has been arrested till now,” said a police officer.