PNS | DEHRADUN
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) arrested a man posing as an army officer on charges of deceiving young aspirants with false promises of recruitment in the Indian Army. The arrest was made following a confidential tip-off from the Millitary Intelligence in Dehradun, the senior superintendent of police of STF, Navneet Singh Bhullar said. He said that the accused had duped several youths, extracting lakhs of rupees from them under the pretense of securing jobs in the army.
The fraudulent activities came to light when a young victim lodged a complaint at Patelnagar police station in Dehradun, stating that he had been cheated after being assured of a job in the army. He said that upon receiving the intelligence input, the STF launched an investigation into the matter. The accused, identified as Pramod Kumar alias Vasu, was reportedly operating in the Patelnagar area, where he impersonated an army officer by wearing a military uniform and displaying a fake army identification card. He reportedly convinced several youths that he had strong connections in the army and could get them recruited to various positions, particularly in the tradesman category.
According to the SSP, the investigation further revealed that Kumar had allegedly demanded sums ranging between Rs three lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh from each aspirant. To make his fraud appear convincing, he even reportedly met some of the victims wearing an army uniform at the Military Hospital in Dehradun. Bhullar said that one of the victims, Parvez, was handed a fake admit card for a driver’s post in the army and later shown a forged merit list confirming his selection. However, when Parvez reached the Military Hospital for further processing, he discovered that the merit list was fabricated, with his name fraudulently added. Realising the scam, he filed an official complaint at Patelnagar police station against Kumar and his associates. The SSP said that the STF, in coordination with Military Intelligence and local police, launched a joint operation and apprehended Kumar from Chandrabani Road in Dehradun late on Monday. The authorities also recovered a fake army identification card, a set of army uniforms, other military-related clothing and his mobile phone from his possession. Bhullar informed that Kumar is a resident of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is currently in police custody and further investigations are underway to uncover the full extent of the scam and identify other possible victims. The SSP also urged aspirants to remain cautious and verify recruitment processes only through official mediums to avoid falling prey to such fraudulent schemes.
