Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 2: Special Task Force (STF) from UP busted an interstate fake recruitment racket that duped many young job seekers on the pretext of getting them service in Indian Defence Services.
Acting on inputs provided by the Military Intelligence, Northern Command Udhampur, STF officials arrested kingpin Atul Kumar Mathur, a resident of UP’s Kasganj, from Noida last night. He would pose as a high-ranking officer in the Indian Navy and assure unemployed youngsters of a job in the Defence Ministry and the Indian Army in lieu of bribes ranging from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 20 lakhs.
STF have recovered caps, t-shirts, camouflage dresses, combat uniforms, and jerseys with ‘Indian Navy’ written, including six pairs of the Navy uniform of the Lieutenant Commander rank. Police have also recovered fake identity cards and stamps from his possession.
Mathur was also carrying fake nameplates and an identity card of the Indian Naval Academy in his name.
The STF team, headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Udai Pratap Singh, was informed by the MI about Mathur’s presence at Amrapali Zodiac Apartments in Noida Sector-120. Acting swiftly on the inputs, the team laid a cordon in the area and arrested the accused.
During the questioning, gang ring leader Mathur revealed the involvement of his brother Sunny, Mathura resident Vipin Kumar and Bulandshahr resident Ashok Kumar.
Meerut native Anil Kumar alias Ajay – who is a staff member at the Defence Ministry – played a key role in the gang. To add a layer of legitimacy to their fake hiring process, Anil provided QR-coded documents and a gate pass for entry into the Defence Ministry building, Mathur told policemen. The gang’s main targets were gullible youths from rural areas, according to police.
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