Man dupes job aspirants by posing as govt servant, held

A 24-year-old man was arrested here for allegedly duping at least five job seekers of over Rs 9 lakh by posing as a government servant, police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified Niraj Dinkar Sonawane, was arrested on Wednesday, police said.

According to a police official, the accused promised placements to youths in different government establishments, including the Railways, Zilla Parishad, Passport department and the Public Works Department (PWD).

"Police had got a tip-off that he is visiting the city on Tuesday evening. Accordingly, a trap was laid and he was caught after he arrived in his vehicle," Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said adding that he was formally arrested on Wednesday.

"Sonawane had promised to give government jobs to youths in Pune, Kalyan and Thane. He collected Rs 9.50 lakh from these job aspirants between January 2017 and August 2018," she said.

According to police, the accused duped the youths by posing as a government servant and used the official state emblem on his vehicle.

He has been booked under IPC sections 170 (personating a public servant), 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document), Narkar said.

He was also booked under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, she said.

The investigation has been handed over to Thane crime branch.