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Suspended ward boy behind fake appointment letters, says health dept
A suspended ward boy in Pune and Ahmednagar districts issued fake appointment letters under the name of the district civil surgeon, cheating over 23 people of ₹30 to 40 lakh. The ward boy is currently absconding and no formal complaint has been registered yet.
Investigations conducted by the Public Health Department officials revealed that a 35-year-old suspended ward boy is behind the fake appointment letters issued under the name of the district civil surgeon, said officials on Saturday.
As per the officials, over 23 people have been cheated of ₹30 to 40 lakh in Pune and Ahmednagar district. The issue came to light on August 17 after a 30-year-old victim visited Alandi Rural Hospital with fake joining papers. Similar incident was reported on August 18 at Yavat Rural Hospital. These victims were handed over to the police. The conman claimed to have good contacts in the health ministry and issued forged appointment and joining letters in exchange for money. People were asked to pay over ₹1 lakh and above for appointment as class III and Class IV staff at public health department-run hospitals in Pune and Ahmednagar districts.
Dr Nagnath Yempalay, district civil surgeon of Pune district said, “The ward boy was working at a government hospital in Baramati and due to some issues, he was suspended. Later, he was asked to report to the Rural Hospital in Indapur. However, the ward boy didn’t resume his duty at Indapur Hospital and is absconding. We had issued a letter to all rural and sub-district hospitals to check new staff appointed in last three months and a report was submitted for investigation.”
The probe in this regard from Alandi and Yavat police station has been handed over to Indapur police station who are yet to register an FIR in the case.
Dilip Pawar, senior police inspector attached to Indapur police station, said that there is no written complaint received from any victim at our police station due to which no offence has been registered yet. “We think the accused have settled the issue and returned the money due to which no victim is coming forward to register a complaint. After the news of the fake joining letter the conman might have stopped issuing more letters,” he said.
