20 jobseekers duped of Rs1.33 crore

According to the Goregaon police, the victims were promised postings at Varanasi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Twenty people from the city and other states were allegedly cheated of Rs1.33 crore by a group of fraudsters, who promised them jobs as ticket collectors with the Indian Railways.

Twenty people from the city and other states were allegedly cheated of Rs1.33 crore by a group of fraudsters, who promised them jobs as ticket collectors with the Indian Railways

According to the Goregaon police, the victims were promised postings at Varanasi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. On Sunday, the first FIR in connection with the mass fraud was registered on the basis of a complaint by Sakharam Rajaram Landage, 31, an Airoli resident.

Police sources said that Landage stated in his complaint that since May 2016, he and 19 others from various other states have been cheated by a group of fraudsters, with the accused identified as Rajesh Kumar, Sanjeev Ray, Manish and Seema Pawar.

“The fraudsters collected Rs7 lakh each from the victims. The victims were given forged Indian Railways appointment letters, identity cards and payment receipts. Most of these documents had the Indian Railways logo on it, hence no one suspected anything amiss,” said a police source.

According to the source, the accused created a fake website and then uploaded the names of the victims as selected candidates. The accused collected money in cash as well as through RTGS transactions, the source added.

Considering the magnitude of the case, it has been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch unit-11 for further investigation, said a police officer.

The police suspect the fraudsters were in contact with present or former railway personnel.