At least 30 youth paid Rs 3-6 lakh each to fraudsters
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Mar 12: Scammers defrauded over two dozen youth in Gurez area of Bandipora district by providing them fake appointment orders in Territorial Army (TA) and Military Engineering Service (MES).
A case (FIR N0. 01/24 dated 01-01-2024) has been registered in Police Station Bandipora against three of them two months ago but the scamsters are still at large.
The case has been registered against three persons identified as Ghulam Nabi Lone of Gurez, Ghulam Nabi Lone of Bandipora and Mohammad Yousuf Bhat of Lasjan, Srinagar for providing Jobs in the Army in lieu of money.
The complainants Shakeel Ahmad and Mukhtar Ahmad, both residents of Gurez, who were also scammed in their complaint alleged that they paid Rs 6 lakh each for getting jobs in the Army.
“We came into their false promises and gave them Rs 6 lakh each for the job and they gave us fake appointment letters and other documents and also, they showed us photos with senior officers of Indian Army and fooled us,” read the FIR.
The video evidence that was produced before the Police shows one of the scammers, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, receiving cash from one of the aspirants at a restaurant and refusing to return money to a youth who failed to arrange the rest of the money.
As per the officials they have defrauded at least 30 people so far and for which the scammed youth provided them Rs 3-6 lakhs each.
Mukhtar Ahmad Beigh from Gurez alleged that he paid Rs 6 lakhs to them for providing job in the Army.
“They called us in Srinagar, showed a fake letter of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and took Rs 3 lakh for appearing for a medical examination which was held outside the entrance of Rangreth Army camp in the outskirts of Srinagar. He asked for another Rs 3 lakhs and gave us a joining letter which turned out to be fake. They sent us an application form through WhatsApp. No race was conducted, and only our height was checked near the Rangreth gate. There was no Army official involved. We received a call letter on 28th October and were asked to join at Badami Bagh on 18th November. We reached Badami Bagh (15 corps headquarters), but their phones were not reachable”, he said.
Shakeel Ahmad who was also defrauded said that it was Sarpanch of his village who lured him. “The Sarpanch of my village told me about it and brought me to Srinagar to meet these people who gave me a fake appointment letter. I trusted them because the letters which they showed us looked genuine. We were unaware that such fake documents existed. I have taken money on debt from relatives and neighbours who now want their money back,” he said.
Another scammed youth, Jameel Ahmad Beigh, said that the scammers told them that the Defence Minister had approved the recruitment of 121 people at Badami Bagh (15 Corps Headquarters) of the Army.
“They gained our full trust and even gave us entry passes to the Army headquarters. They kept delaying the process. When we met senior army officers, they confirmed that these jobs were fake,” he said.
They alleged that there are three more persons involved including a fake Army Major and a fake Army para-medic who conducted their so-called medical test.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
