3 Arrested For Duping Maharashtra Man Of Rs 70 Lakh With Fake Job Offer

Three persons have been arrested for allegedly cheating a resident of Maharashtra's Thane district after promising him a job in the state government, a police official said on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amarsingh Jadhav told the media on Thursday that the accused lured complainant Darshan Santosh Patil by showing fake letters bearing forged signatures and seals of senior Mantralaya officials, along with the national emblem.

Patil paid Rs 70 lakh through online transfers, banking channels, and cash, following which he was issued a fake appointment letter and identity card showing that he had been "hired as clerk-typist in the revenue and forest department", the official said.

Police said Patil subsequently realised that he had been cheated. He then filed a police complaint, triggering a probe by the Crime Branch and the arrest of three accused persons.

The trio has been identified as Mumbai resident Sham Vithoba Khatkar (55), Jugal Kumar Lodaya, alias Lodhiya (39), of Thane, and Ravindra Dayanidhi Sankhua (52), who lives in Kalyan (East).

The police have recovered several fake government letterheads, forged rubber stamps, and official seals bearing the names of senior Mantralaya officials from the accused.

All three are repeat offenders with extensive criminal records, they said.

Police are trying to ascertain how the accused procured forged official stamps and letterheads of senior government officials. "We are also probing whether the accused duped more people," Jadhav said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)