Agent held for issuing fake Covid-19 report to job seeker near Mumbai

As the complainant had not undergone an antigen or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, he found something amiss and approached the police in Mira Road

Naya Nagar police arrested a 30-year-old recruitment agent from Mira Road for allegedly issuing a fake Covid-19 test report to a Punjab-based job aspirant.

A court in Thane has remanded the accused to two-day police custody. (Photo for representation)

The accused, Dhiraj Deepbandhu Jha, had taken ₹1.45 lakh from the complainant on the pretext of securing a job for him abroad.

“When Jha failed to find the complainant a job, he pestered the accused to return his money. So the accused lied to him about finding him a job in Dubai and arranged for a tourist visa for the man. He also arranged for a fake Covid-19 test report for the complainant to travel,” said a police officer.

As the complainant had not undergone an antigen or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, he found something amiss and approached the police in Mira Road.

“The Covid-negative certificate was forged and we are checking the authenticity of the other documents, including the four-day Dubai visa arranged for the victim. On Wednesday, we arrested Jha for cheating and forgery. A court in Thane has remanded him to two-day police custody. We are probing the case further and more arrests are possible as Jha may have duped more people in a similar manner,” the officer added.