Sacked Army man arrested for running fake job racket

Impersonated as Indian Army Colonel

JAMMU: The Jammu Crime Branch on Friday arrested a dismissed Army personnel running a fake soldiers' recruitment racket while impersonating as a colonel duping people of lakh of rupees, along with his three accomplices.

The police team which arrested sacked Army man Kulwinder Singh, also seized several incriminating documents and other articles from the tricksters' 'office' that they used to keep changing in the city.
The seized articles included Army uniforms, medals, laptops, mobile phones and forged Army recruitment records.

Singh, a resident of Deharan, Akhnoor Road near Mishriwala lured unemployed youths by impersonating himself as Army Colonel and had collected huge amount of money ranging from Rupees two to five lakhs each for recruiting them in Indian Army.

The accused had also issued fake appointment orders in favour of various gullible youths after taking huge amounts from them.

The police made the arrest acting on a complaint by one Mohinder Kumar of Shamachak, Jhiri and others who alleged that Kulwinder Singh and his accomplices duped unemployed youths of Rs two to five lakhs on the promise of getting them recruited in the defence force.

The tricksters initially operated from an office at Paloura in Jammu but later shifted their bases to Muthi Camp and Janipur, the officials said.

They said the accused has threatened complainants of dire consequences and have taken Rs 25 lakhs from him by inducement, as he came to his house in Army Officer’s uniform and told that being an Army Officer can get the complainant and his brother appointed in the Indian Army.

It is further alleged that the accused also went to complainant’s house in the year 2018 and thereafter taking money kept the complainant as cook in his house for more than five months, but paid no pay to him, neither returned his money etc.

“On receipt of this complaint, a preliminary verification was conducted by Crime Branch, Jammu and on the basis of verification, the allegations were prima facie established.

“Accordingly, a case FIR No. 28/2019 u/s 420, 467, 468, 471, 170, 171, 120-B RPC was registered at P/S Crime Branch, Jammu against the above mentioned accused persons. A team of officers Inspector Arun Kotwal and Inspector Mashkoor Giri headed by Bhushan Kumar Ganjoo (DySP) Crime Branch Jammu was constituted to investigation of the case expeditiously,” an official spokesman said.

The Crime Branch team conducted raid at the rental residence-cum-office of accused Kulwinder Singh and seized incriminating materials.

The three others arrested was police were identified as Vishal Bhagat, Sahil Sharma and Ricky Chib, a step brother of the key accused.