Washim (Maharashtra), May 17 (IANS) A 47-year-old man in Maharashtra’s Washim has been arrested for allegedly cheating an unemployed youth of Rs 1.73 lakh by falsely promising him a government job and issuing a fake appointment letter, officials said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Ramesh Ramkrishna Navghare, was taken into custody after an investigation by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) uncovered an alleged fraud involving fake recruitment assurances linked to a Panchayat Samiti post.

According to the complaint lodged at the Washim City Police Station, the accused allegedly approached the complainant with a promise of securing him a government position as a PTO (Panel Technical Officer) in the Washim Panchayat Samiti. Claiming to have influence in the recruitment process, Navghare allegedly collected money from the victim on multiple occasions.

Police said the complainant paid a total of Rs 1.73 lakh to the accused in the hope of obtaining a stable government job. To convince the victim that the recruitment process was genuine, the accused allegedly handed over an appointment letter purportedly issued by the Karanja Panchayat Samiti.

However, suspicion arose after the complainant attempted to verify the appointment details and discovered discrepancies in the documents provided to him. Subsequent inquiries reportedly revealed that the appointment letter was fake and that no such official recruitment had taken place.

After realising that he had been duped, the victim approached the police and registered a formal complaint.

Taking serious note of the allegations, the Washim police and the LCB initiated an investigation into the matter. During the probe, police received information regarding the whereabouts of the accused. Acting on a tip-off, the police team detained Navghare from the premises of a hotel in Washim.

Police officials said a case has been registered against the accused under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust.

Investigators are now trying to ascertain whether the accused had cheated other job seekers using a similar modus operandi. Officials said scrutiny of documents and financial transactions linked to the accused is underway as part of the ongoing investigation.

–IANS

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