Pune: Man Arrested for Rs 29.1 Lakh Job Scam in Army Recruitment Fraud
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Khadki, 3rd July 2024: In a joint operation, the Military Intelligence (MI) unit of the Army’s Southern Command and Pune police, a man has been arrested for duping three people of Rs 29.1 lakh under the pretext of helping them secure jobs in the army.
An FIR has been registered at Khadki police station against the accused, Sandeep Valwant Gurav (39), based on a complaint from Satapa Ramchandra Wagre (46) of Kolhapur district.
According to Wagre, who works as a conductor with Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), in 2020, his friend Santosh Teli introduced him to Gurav, who claimed to be retired from the army and well-connected within it. Gurav promised to help Wagre’s nephew, Ajinkya Balwant Redekar, secure an army job. “Gurav told me he was familiar with places offering good jobs, including the army,” Wagre recounted.
On November 26, 2020, Wagre took his wife Madhuri, brother-in-law Vishwas Dinkar Chaugle, and nephew Ajinkya to the Military Hospital in Khadki, Pune, where Gurav introduced them to an army officer named Suraj Singh. Gurav assured Wagre that he could secure jobs for all three family members for a fee of Rs 12 lakh each, totaling Rs 36 lakh.
After paying Rs 29.1 lakh, Wagre and his family were instructed to return multiple times for various formalities, including COVID-19 tests. Eventually, Gurav presented fake appointment letters and identity cards for the three, claiming there were minor errors to be corrected.
Despite repeated demands for the promised jobs, Gurav only returned Rs 94,000 to Wagre and Rs 3.2 lakh to his brother-in-law Chaugle in small installments. Matters escalated when Gurav falsely accused Chaugle of kidnapping, leading to further financial extortion.
Wagre filed a complaint with the Southern Command’s Military Intelligence unit, which kept Gurav under surveillance and nabbed him at Military Hospital in Khadki, yesterday. Later, he was taken to Khadki police station where an FIR was registered.
Gurav faces charges of financial fraud, forgery, and producing false appointment letters and identity cards purportedly signed by the OIC of Military Hospital in Khadki Pune.
According to officials, Gurav had joined the Army’s EME corps in 2003 but was later dismissed from service due to being a deserter for more than seven years.
