New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) The CBI has booked 10 people, including a now-sacked sepoy, in connection with a racket that allegedly duped candidates by promising employment with the Army, Food Corporation of India and Railways, officials said.
The CBI has alleged that mastermind, Sepoy Bablu Chauhan who was then posted at Delhi Cantt and has now been dismissed from service, had developed a nexus of officials for recruitments in the Army, Territorial Army, Assam Rifles, Food Corporation of India, Eastern Railways in return for money, they said.
In 2019, Chauhan came to know about persons in Gorakhpur — Virendra Kumar, Naik Deepak Thapa, Raju Yadav among other — who had connections in the Territorial Army could arrange jobs for Rs 5.5 lakh per candidate, the officials said.
Chauhan spread the message through his contacts — Craftsman Akash and Ward Sahayika in Command Hospital Udhampur Chanchala Devi — who arranged candidates for Rs 7-8 lakh per head.
The enquiry showed that he allegedly collected over Rs 1.43 crore in his and his wife’s account during 2020-22 with significant amount coming in from residents based in Udhampur, Jammu, Kota, and Jaipur where candidates were from, they said.
He transferred Rs 31 lakh to Gorakhpur-based accomplices directly or through the account of a women, they said.
Chauhan kept assuring the candidates of jobs in TA but later started giving excuse of Covid-induced freeze of recruitment there. He then told them they can be appointed in the FCI. He allegedly took some candidates to his home in Gorakhpur where aspirants came to know that 8-10 candidates from Rajasthan were already lodged there in the hope of a job in the FCI.
These candidates reached FCI Gorakhpur but were not allowed to join.
Chauhan then made a call to one Rahul Dravid, a resident of Dibhiya Dhobi Tola in Gorakhpur, in front of candidates bluffing them that Dravid’s uncle is posted as DRM in Eastern Railways, Kolkata, where he could get a job for them under special quota.
“After the said call, Rahul Dravid also joined Bablu Chauhan and both of them took candidates (five from Jammu and 8-10 from Rajasthan) to Kolkata,” the FIR alleged.
The candidates were allegedly kept in Dharamtalla hotels. Chauhan took them to Kolkata Railways Hospital where unidentified persons took their medical samples and a purported medical fitness certificate signed by a Railway Recruitment Board doctor was given to them. The aspirants were also given fake ID cards.
Chauhan told the candidates that they have been selected in the Railways and will get joining letter in due course. Once the candidates returned homes, Chauhan again contacted them and demanded Rs 2.50 lakh more before joining saying that group D job would cost Rs 9 lakh while for group C job they will have to shell out Rs 10 lakh.
Some candidates transferred Rs 2.5 lakh in David’s account while some in Chauhan’s account.
Chauhan and accomplices also created a fake web site rrcb.com and printed fake joining letter for the post of TC and Gateman besides a fake office at Fairlie Place near Babughat from where joining letters were issued.
“They even printed a barcode on the forged joining letters and when the candidates scanned the barcode on their mobiles, the fake web site…showed their roll numbers as selected candidates,” the FIR alleged.
The word about these appointments spread like wildfire in Udhampur where candidates made a “beeline” for Chauhan and transferred more money into his account.
The candidates were taken to fake training institute where they met two women. During the purported training they were asked to shell out Rs 2.50 lakh more for getting the joining letter, the FIR alleged.
After the 45 days of so-called training, Chauhan took them to Kolkata and asked them to pay Rs 5 lakh more for TC blazer and batch and other formalities. The candidates did not have any money left and they said they would pay after getting their first salaries.
One of the candidates, Pawan Kumar, collected his original documents and returned from Kolkata without getting a job. Similarly, he alleged conned aspirants for jobs in Army and collected money from them, the FIR alleged. PTI ABS TIR TIR
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