Once victim of Rs 20-L fraud, his gang committing similar crimes

Tribune News Service

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, March 15

Once deceived by a fraudster of Rs 20 lakh on the pretext of providing him a job in the Punjab Police as assistant sub-inspector, Pinder Sodhi, a resident of Mahilpur district, Hoshiarpur, took the fraud as inspiration and succeeded in becoming a kingpin of a gang, which duped gullible people of crores of rupees in the past in Punjab and Haryana.

The gang members by impersonating as CBI and Vigilance Bureau officials conducted fake raids in Punjab and Haryana, and by showing their closeness with bureaucrats and politicians, cheated people on the pretext of providing them jobs in state and Central Government departments.

Notably, the gang came to limelight when kingpin Pinder, along with gang members namely Manjeet Singh and Paramjeet Singh of Mehlon village, Samrala tehsil, Parminder Singh, a resident of Akash Colony, Hoshiarpur, Hardeep Singh and his wife Pooja Rani, both residents of Khamano town in Fatehgarh Sahib district, had conducted a raid at the house of Palwinder Singh at Bhaini Salu village in Ludhiana by posing as Vigilance officials from Chandigarh in 2023. The suspects had told the house owner that he had sold 18 acres of the panchayat land. They demanded Rs 50 lakh from him to sort out the matter of selling the land, claiming that an inquiry was pending at the Vigilance office in Chandigarh, otherwise, a fraud case would be registered against him.

The gang was later busted by the Ludhiana Vigilance Bureau and all suspects, excluding Hardeep Singh, were arrested.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana, Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, told The Tribune here on Friday that the Pinder-led gang had been facing five cases registered in Ludhiana, Mukandpur (SBS Nagar), Kathgarh (SBS Nagar), Ferozepur and Pehowa in Haryana. In four cases, Pinder was also declared a proclaimed offender.

Sandhu said in 2018, Pinder was duped of Rs 20 lakh on the pretext of employing him in the Punjab Police on the post of the ASI. “After the fraud when Pinder failed to get his money back, he decided to form his own gang of swindlers and fraudsters to cheat people with the same modus operandi. After he was cheated by the miscreants, he thought he can earn huge money by doing the same with gullible people. Since then, he and his accomplices had duped 16 persons of their money. In some cases, they impersonated as CBI and Vigilance officials while in others, he duped people by showing his proximity with government officials and politicians,” the SSP said.

The SSP said now, the Vigilance Bureau had started gathering details of properties made by Pinder and others members of his gang with the illegal money and the same would be attached.

Frauds committed by the gang in state, Haryana

• Posing as Vigilance officers, the gang conducted raids at the house of farmer Parminder Singh at Bhaini Salu village in Ludhiana.
• Posing as CBI officials, the gang duped a family of Pehowa, Haryana, of Rs 52 lakh.
• Cheated a man of Rs 8 lakh on the pretext of providing job to the complainant’s daughter in Punjab Police.
• Cheated SBS Nagar-based bank employee Shiv Kumar of Rs 4 lakh, assuring govt job to his wife.
• Deceived Jagsir Singh of Mehlon, Ludhiana, of Rs 35 lakh for providing him a job in the Income Tax Department as inspector.
• Cheated Gurdeep Singh of Pakhowal Ludhiana of Rs 35 lakh for assuring job in IT Department as inspector.
• Committed a fraud of Rs 28 lakh with Sukhdev Singh of Fazilka for job in IT Department.
• Rs 25-lakh fraud with Dyal Singh of Fazilka for job in IT Department.
• Rs 20-lakh Fraud with Rasbir Singh of Sahnewal for job in Punjab Police.
• Fraud of Rs 13 lakh with Harkaran Singh of Kharar for job in Punjab Police.
• Rs 13-lakh fraud with Harbans Singh of Pakhowal assuring job in Police Department.
• Cheated Gagandeep Singh of Samrala of Rs 13 lakh for a job in Police Department.
• Rs 13-lakh job fraud with Balwinder Singh of Panchkula.
• Rs 26-lakh fraud with two Sardulgarh-based residents for providing job in Police Department.
• Rs 12-lakh Punjab Police job fraud with Sudagar Ram of SBS Nagar.

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#Central Bureau of Investigation CBI #Hoshiarpur #Punjab Police