New Delhi (Agency): In a crackdown against fraudulent activities, six members of a gang were arrested in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, for tricking people into believing they were being offered government jobs in the court. These individuals provided fake offer letters for a hefty fee, said the police on Tuesday.
The scam came to light when Ashok Kumar Upadhyay, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Civil Court, received a letter on his mobile phone containing a fake signature of a district judge and a counterfeit seal of the ‘High Court at Allahabad.’ Upadhyay filed a complaint last Friday, prompting the launch of an investigation led by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Durga Prasad Tiwari.
Superintendent of Police S Anand then ordered a joint probe by the Cyber Cell and Kotwali police. During the investigation, it was discovered that two of the arrested individuals, Hatim alias Abdul Rehman and Nihal Singh, were ad hoc workers in the court. “They had obtained the signature of the judge and the high court seal,” said Tiwari. These were then used to prepare fake appointment letters, which were given to another accused, Sirajuddin.
With the help of three other accomplices—Jalal Ahmed, Junaid Ahmed, and Himanshu Baranwal—the gang would trap innocent job-seekers. “They lured them with the promise of securing them government jobs in the court, charging each person Rs 1 lakh,” explained the ASP.
The police have recovered significant evidence from the arrested individuals, including four mobile phones, a register, three copies of a list of candidates, photocopies of letters sent to 10 candidates, 55 fake appointment letters, and two laptops. An FIR has been registered against the accused, and they are being charged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. These include cheating, falsification of documents, conspiracy, and the Information Technology Act.
