Bank manager among 9 booked for duping people in Jammu

The Jammu Crime Branch has registered five separate FIRs in fraud cases involving an amount of Rs 3.12 crore and booked eleven individuals, including a serving SBI bank manager and a retired police constable, for their alleged involvement in various scams—ranging from MBBS admission fraud and fake government job offers to land scams and visa fraud.

An FIR has been filed against SBI manager Javaid Ashraf Bhatti, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, based on two written complaints. The complainants alleged that Bhatti duped them of Rs 1.78 crore under the pretext of selling a petrol pump in Kalakote, Rajouri, operating under the name “Kala Kote Filling Station.” However, investigations revealed that Bhatti was not the actual owner of the said petrol pump.

In a separate case, a retired police constable, Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Preet Nagar, Digiana, Jammu, has been booked following three complaints. The complainants alleged that Singh cheated them of Rs 72.93 lakh by falsely claiming ownership of land in Birpur and Jammu, and a residential house in Gangyal, which he offered for sale.

Another case has been registered against Fayaj Ahmad Rather, proprietor of Fayaj International Education Consultancy, based in Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, and a resident of Zainapora, Shopian. He allegedly duped a complainant, Anil Gupta, of Rs 40 lakh on the false promise of securing an MBBS admission for his son at ASCOMS, Sidhra, Jammu.

In a separate FIR, five individuals—Mohd Issaq of Doda, Tariq Hussein and Mudassir Hussein of Kupwara, and Sher Mohd of Gandoh, Doda—were booked for allegedly duping four complainants of Rs 12.70 lakh under the guise of providing government jobs.

In the fifth case, Sahil Bhagat, a resident of Pathankot, along with others, was booked for duping seven individuals from Jammu and Samba of Rs 36.89 lakh. The victims were promised overseas job placements and were issued fake visas, purportedly for Italy and Australia.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch Jammu, Benam Tosh, confirmed that five FIRs have been registered and investigations are underway in all the cases.