THANE: An Ulhasnagar resident has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent railway recruitment scheme and swindling several unsuspecting job seekers of lakhs of rupees, Thane crime branch officials informed.
Shivraj Patil, deputy police commissioner, Thane crime, said the accused assumed fake identities and operated the online scam where he would post bogus updates about vacancies in various railways departments on his social media accounts and lure prospective job seekers.
Once he gained their trust, the accused would provide job seekers with fake application forms and later allegedly forge appointment letters on behalf of the Indian railways and give it to his victims in return of a hefty commission. As part of his modus operandi, he would change his mobile number and social media accounts after ensnaring a few job seekers, police said.
The con job was exposed when one of the victims attempted to contact him but after several futile attempts, suspected foul play and approached the police, who set a trap for him outside Thane railway station where he was scheduled to meet a new victim.
Police sources revealed that the accused was allegedly drawn to this fraudulent scheme as he wanted to improve the poor financial situation of his family and also facilitate funds for his sister’s marriage.
“We are investigating the case to uncover if he was involved in previous con jobs. During initial interrogation, we discovered the accused had conned nearly 13 aspirants from Palghar and collected nearly Rs 14 lakhs from them under the pretext of providing them jobs in the railways,” senior inspector Dilip Patil at the Thane crime branch unit-1 said.