Woman loses ₹13.48L on fake govt job promises

“We suspect there is an involvement of some government employees in this racket, and are probing the case,” added a police official

Mumbai: A 34-year-old job-seeker was cheated to the tune of ₹13.48 lakh by five fraudsters, who promised her a job in the Public Works Department (PWD) and other branches of the state government.

The five fraudsters are booked for cheating, forgery of valuable documents, and criminal conspiracy (StockPic)

To convince the victim of the authenticity of the job opening, the fraudsters took her to the home department in Mantralaya to submit documents, conducted her interview at the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, and also initiated a medical test at the state-run JJ Hospital.

Acting on the complaint filed by the victim, Pallavi Phulzade, 34, a Dombivli resident, the Bandra police station has registered a case against the accused Pritam Kanphade, Vihar Ramteke, Mohit Desai, Irfan Sayyad, and his wife Jayda Sayyad. They are booked for cheating, forgery of valuable documents, and criminal conspiracy.

According to the complainant, the victim’s sister Rakhi Indurkar introduced her to the accused- Pritam Kanphade, whom she met between August 2021 and April 2022. During these meetings, Kanphade informed Phulzade that he had contacts in the government, and could secure a government job for her if she was ready to pay for the same.

While the victim was at her sister’s house in Bandra Police Colony, she got a call from Pritam, informing her that there was a vacancy in Mantralaya, but she will have to pay ₹9 lakh to Vihar Ramteke, another accused.

“They told her that she will have to pay ₹3 lakh in advance and the remaining ₹6 lakh after receiving the appointment letter. They also gave her an option of getting a refund, if she did not like the job,” said an officer attached to the Bandra police station.

In September 2021, the complainant got a call from the accused named Vihan, who told her that there was a vacancy in the Public Works Department (PWD) and that the accused Mohit Desai was handling the recruitment for the same. She was informed that if she was interested in the position, she would have to pay ₹1.5 lakh immediately.

“Vihan then asked Phulzade to go to the third floor of Mantralaya in the Home Department, where she met an unidentified person, who took her documents required for the position,” said the police officer.

The same day, Phulzade was asked to pay ₹2 lakh more to get the appointment letter in hand. However, due to some delay, the accused then told her that there was a vacancy in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, and the job opportunity was available immediately. The victim was told to contact accused Irfan Sayyad, who was handling the recruitment process.

Sayyad then, on several occasions, took money from the complainant, and to gain her trust, took her to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for an interview. He then sent her a fake appointment letter, in which it was stated that she was selected for the position of a junior clerk in the education and sports department.

“The fraudsters even took the complainant to state-run JJ Hospital for her medical test, a prerequisite to get a job,” said the police officer.

Later, all the accused started avoiding the victim’s phone calls, which made her suspicious. The fraudsters also gave her two cheques, claiming that if she didn’t get the job, she could present the cheques for encashment. But, when she deposited the cheques, those turned out to be dishonoured.

“We suspect there is an involvement of some government employees in this racket, and are probing the case,” added a police official.