Pune: PMC Peon Arrested For Alleged Fake Job Racket, Victims Duped Of Lakhs

Pune: A peon working in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been arrested for allegedly running a fake recruitment racket by promising civic jobs using forged appointment letters, fake official stamps and signatures. The accused, identified as Shivanand Patil, has also been suspended pending a departmental inquiry.

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The Shivajinagar Police arrested Patil after the PMC filed an FIR. Police are now searching for three more people who are believed to have been involved in the scam. Officials are also investigating whether more candidates were cheated.

The case came to light after one of the victims approached PMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Prajit Nair with documents, including fake appointment letters and proof of payments made to Patil and his associates. The complainant was initially hesitant to approach the police, but the PMC decided to file a complaint after verifying the evidence.

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Complainant Received Joining Letter, Salary Before Suspecting Fraud

According to PMC officials, three cases have been identified so far. The victims were allegedly promised jobs as junior engineers in the civic body. One complainant claimed he lost ₹45 lakh, while two others reportedly paid ₹15 lakh and ₹10 lakh.

The first complainant said he met Patil in 2022 through mutual contacts while facing financial problems. Patil allegedly introduced him to two other people and promised him a junior engineer's post in the PMC in exchange for ₹45 lakh. The complainant said he borrowed the money from his father.

To make the offer appear genuine, the accused allegedly handed over an appointment letter, a joining letter, and a transfer order. The complainant also received ₹1.28 lakh as salary for two months and was told it was part of his training period. He later became suspicious after noticing errors in the transfer order and failed to get a proper meeting with senior civic officials.

When the complainant threatened legal action, Patil allegedly issued cheques to return the money. However, the first cheque bounced, prompting the victim to approach the PMC.

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AAP vice-president and activist Vijay Kumbhar claimed that the scam could be much larger than initially believed. He alleged that Patil and his associates may have cheated around 300 to 400 job seekers by offering fake jobs in the PMC and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), collecting between ₹30 lakh and ₹45 lakh from each candidate.

PMC Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said the civic body registered the FIR after conducting a preliminary inquiry. Officials believe more people may have fallen victim to the racket and have appealed to them to come forward.

Police are continuing their investigation to identify other accused and determine the full extent of the alleged fraud.

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