Mumbai police arrest three more in fake government jobs case

The accused have cheated people of at least Rs1.25 crore and police are trying to recover the amount.

Unit 11 of Mumbai crime branch arrested three more suspects in the fake job racket.

All five accused were produced in court on Tuesday (HT File/Representational Image)

The total arrest is now five, including a woman and mastermind Lalit Omprakash Sawant, who posed as assistant commissioner of police (ACP) and duped 70 people across the state by promising them jobs in police department, BMC and railways.

All five were produced in court on Tuesday. The court has extended the police custody of Sawant and Mangal Singh alias Pappy, 37, Rohit Gautam, 25, Dinesh Nanji Barwadia, 27, till February 15 for further investigation. The woman accused Mayura Makwana was given judicial custody.

Investigations revealed that Makwana had provided fake government identity cards and stamp of appointment letters to Sawant for job aspirants. With the help of Mangal, she approached Rohit and Dinesh who run a shop in Santacruz and made stamps for several offices, said a police officer.

Sawant has cheated people of at least Rs1.25 crore and police are trying to recover the amount.

Sawant had visited Naigaon police headquarters during recruitment and approached several candidates outside. He had introduced himself as an ACP of special branch and promised them jobs in the police force. He had also taken money from them, said an official.

Sawant followed all the procedures by issuing aspirants with ID cards, appointment letters and conducting medical tests. He even got them to stitch uniforms based on their jobs so they could not doubt him.