Thane: Three booked for duping job seekers of Rs 56 lakh

Police in Thane have booked three individuals for allegedly defrauding four job aspirants of a total of Rs 56 lakh after falsely promising them positions in the Indian Railways. The victims, all residents of Badlapur in Maharashtra`s Thane district, were lured into the scam by the accused, who provided them with forged railway documents.

According to an official from Badlapur East Police Station, the accused, who hailed from Badlapur, Mumbai, and Jharkhand, gained the trust of the victims between September 2020 and July 2024. As per PTI, the fraudsters convinced the job aspirants that they had secured employment with the Indian Railways and presented fake documents as proof.

The victims, hopeful for government jobs, were persuaded to pay large sums of money for the alleged positions. However, when they inquired about updates on their job placements, the accused failed to provide any satisfactory responses, raising suspicions. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the documents provided to the victims were entirely fabricated, leading the complainants to file a case.

In a similar incident of deception earlier this year, a 48-year-old hotelier from Thane has allegedly been defrauded of Rs 13 lakh by a man posing as an excise department official, who falsely promised to secure a liquor sale license for his establishment, police said.

According to PTI reports, the accused approached the victim, who runs a hotel in the Kalwa area of Thane, in January last year. Claiming to be an employee of the Maharashtra state excise department in Nashik, he assured the hotelier that he could procure the necessary permit for him in exchange for a fee. Believing the offer to be genuine, the hotelier paid the accused Rs 13 lakh over multiple transactions.

However, despite repeated assurances, the victim never received the promised liquor permit. As months passed and the accused failed to deliver on his commitment, the hotelier grew suspicious. Upon confronting the alleged fraudster and demanding a refund, he received evasive responses. Realising that he had been deceived, he approached the Kalwa police station and lodged a complaint.

(With inputs from PTI)