Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has busted an interstate fake recruitment racket that duped many young job seekers on the pretext of getting them jobs in Indian defence services. They charged aspirants as high as ₹20 lakhs.
Acting on inputs provided by the Military Intelligence (Udhampur), STF officials arrested kingpin Atul Kumar Mathur, a resident of UP’s Kasganj, from Noida on Tuesday night.
He would pose as a high-ranking officer in the Indian Navy and assure unemployed youngsters of a job in the defence ministry and the Indian Army in lieu of bribes ranging from ₹10 lakhs to ₹20 lakhs.
Cops have recovered caps, t-shirts, camouflage dresses, combat uniforms, and jerseys with ‘Indian Navy’ written, including six pairs of the Navy uniform of the lieutenant commander rank. Police have also recovered fake identity cards and stamps from his possession.
Mathur was also carrying fake nameplates and an identity card of the Indian Naval Academy in his name.
The STF team, headed by deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Udai Pratap Singh, was informed by the MI about Mahur’s presence at Amrapali Zodiac apartments in Noida Sector-120 on Tuesday night.
Acting swiftly on the inputs, the team laid a cordon in the area and arrested the accused.
During the questioning, gang ring leader Mathur revealed the involvement of his brother Sunny, Mathura resident Vipin Kumar, and Bulandshahr resident Ashok Kumar.
Meerut native Anil Kumar alias Ajay – who is a staff member at the defence ministry – played a key role in the gang. To add a layer of legitimacy to their fake hiring process, Anil provided QR-coded documents and a gate pass for entry into the defence ministry building, Mathur told policemen.
The gang’s main targets were gullible youths from rural areas, according to police.
Police have registered a case under sections 170 (personating a public servant), 171 (wearing garb used by public servant with fraudulent intent), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471, and 386 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Efforts are being made to nab other members of the gang, said police.