A man pretending to be an IAS officer and his accomplice allegedly duped a journalist and his friend out of Rs 60 lakh. The conmen lured the victims by promising fictitious government jobs.
The scam began in May 2023 when the conmen published a deceptive advertisement in a Gujarati newspaper, promoting Class 3 and Class 4 positions in a non-existent department, ‘Udyog Nigam Ekam (PVVS) in Govt of India’.
The fake ‘IAS Gupta’ and his aide Vinod Patel from Dahod, a retired educator and current journalist, even organised fake exams at the Staff Training College in Gandhinagar and Saraswati School in Balasinor, drawing unsuspecting job seekers.
The scheme unravelled when Haresh Tank, a 56-year-old journalist from Amreli, approached the Gandhinagar SP this March seeking an investigation into the job racket.
Preliminary inquiry
After a preliminary inquiry, Sector 7 police of Gandhinagar registered an FIR on Monday based on Tank’s account of the scam. In the FIR, Tank said that he met Patel at the Old Secretariat in Gandhinagar in May 2023. As both were media professionals, they quickly struck up a friendship. Patel showed Tank the newspaper ad.
Claiming to be connected with high-ranking IAS officers, he assured Tank that he could secure jobs for his family members. Tank decided to secure positions for his 19-year-old son, Jenil, and his 56-year-old wife, Dharmishtha.
Patel initially demanded Rs 20 lakh per job. Tank discussed the opportunity with his friend, Alpesh Goswami, who also sought a job for his son, Bharat. Patel collected an advance of Rs 10 lakh from each of them and provided exam dates and centre details.
Promise of jobs
Tank’s wife and son, along with Bharat, appeared for the exam in Gandhinagar last June. After the exam, Tank and Alpesh met Patel in the Old Secretariat parking area, where Patel introduced a man in an Innova car as IAS officer Gupta. Gupta and Patel demanded the remaining Rs 30 lakh, promising appointment letters in a month.
When no letters arrived, Tank began putting pressure on Patel. After months of evasion, Patel started threatening Tank claiming connections with IAS and police officers.
Finally, Tank filed a complaint against Patel and the fake IAS officer for breach of trust, cheating, forgery, producing forged documents, and criminal conspiracy.
Sector 7 police have confirmed that the entire scheme, from the IAS officer to the newspaper ad, exam centres, and exam papers, was an elaborate fabrication.
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