- A Rs 4 crore fraud involving fake work orders was exposed ahead of Nashik Kumbh
- Abhishek Jhare forged official seals and signatures of Nashik divisional commissioner
- He created counterfeit orders for AI security and CCTV projects to mislead officials
Months ahead of the Nashik Kumbh in October, a Rs 4 crore fraud came to fore involving the use of official government seals and fake signatures to issue work orders.
Accused Abhishek Jhare fabricated counterfeit work orders using the seals in the name of Nashik divisional commissioner Praveen Gedam, while also forging his signatures. The accused attempted to mislead the government under the pretext of Artificial Intelligence-powered security and CCTV projects, seeking to portray that the multi-crore projects were officially sanctioned.
He embezzled the Rs 4 crore received after the work orders were passed.
After Jhare was arrested on Sunday and further investigation into the case was conducted, it was found that he was earlier involved in a fraud concerning fake work orders worth Rs 70 crore. The work orders pertained to appointment of traffic wardens and for the Trimbakeshwar sub-district hospital.
With inputs from Pranjal Kulkarni
