Third accused nabbed in Rs 30 lakh Army job fraud

The Bhuna police of Fatehabad district have arrested the third accused, Pradeep Kumar, alias Babbu, in connection with a large-scale fraud involving fake army recruitment. Pradeep was produced in court on Saturday, which sent him to police custody for two days.

Earlier, Krishna and Ritu had been arrested in the case, which was registered on August 3, 2022, following a complaint by Vikas, son of Satpal from Dholu village of Fatehabad district. According to the complaint, the accused together cheated victims of over Rs 30.65 lakh.

Krishan initiated the scam by promising Army jobs and, along with others, including Gurmangat Singh, Satinder Kaur, Babbu, Ramesh from Jallopur village of Fatehabad district, and Minakshi, Ritu, Rohit, and Sandeep from Delhi, created a fake recruitment scheme. Initially, Rs 8.5 lakh was taken in cash, followed by instalments totaling over Rs 30 lakh.

The accused gave fake joining letters. When the victims demanded refunds, they were issued bounced cheques and faced death threats. On August 18, 2021, the victims were called to Hisar under the pretext of refund but were falsely implicated in kidnapping cases and jailed.

The complainant stated the gang had duped many others with similar fake job promises. Several accused already face multiple criminal charges and some remain in judicial custody. The Bhuna police have intensified their investigation due to the case’s severity.