Meerut (UP), Sep 12 (PTI) The Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested a retired soldier who allegedly posed as a Colonel and duped youngsters on the pretext of recruiting them in the Army, police said Tuesday.
According to the police, Satyapal Singh Yadav, who cheated aspirants from different states, used to introduce himself as Colonel DS Chauhan of the Recruitment Board. He was arrested on Monday and sent to jail on Tuesday, they said.
A case was registered against the accused at the Ganga Nagar police station under IPC sections 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
According to the police, five joining letters, five stamps, a printer, a Colonel’s uniform and a fake identity card have been recovered from the accused.
Yadav, who cheated educated unemployed youth by posing as a Colonel, is only 10th pass and retired as Naik from the Army in 2003.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of STF Brijesh Singh said Yadav, a resident of Kaseru Buxar in Meerut, was arrested on Monday by a joint team of Army Intelligence and Meerut unit of the STF. At the time of his arrest, he was at his home, and was talking about recruiting some people for the Army.
Singh also said Sunil Kumar, who was found at Yadav’s house, had given Rs 16 lakh to the retired soldier two years ago to get his sister Poonam Kumari recruited for the post of LDC clerk in the Army.
After taking this amount, Yadav had given joining letter in the name of both Sunil and his sister Poonam in May, but when the brother and sister reached the Recruitment Office Head Quarter in Lucknow on May 7, 2023 with the joining letter, they came to know that they had been cheated. Only after this the Army officers got alert.
Officials said Yadav had joined the Army in 1985 and retired as a driver with the rank of Naik in 2003. Three years later, Satyapal suffered paralysis and then he started indulging in fraud to earn money.
Yadav used to wear the uniform of a Colonel to deceive people. Apart from this, he kept some boys with him in the Army uniform, so that no one would have any doubt about him being a Colonel. He told the police that he used to drive the car of Colonel DS Chauhan posted in Pune, hence he had become well acquainted with the Colonel’s way of talking etc.
He also got a nameplate made in the name of Colonel DS Chauhan and started cheating people by wearing the Colonel’s uniform. PTI COR NAV CK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.