Four offer Class 1 officer’s post for ₹2.5cr, held

Four offer Class 1 officer’s post for ₹2.5cr, held 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Ahmedabad : Four men have been arrested for drawing up an elaborate scam and conning job seekers by promising them coveted Class I officer positions. Over two years, the four accused individuals allegedly swindled six people out of a staggering Rs 3.45 crore, by promising them the posts of deputy collectors in the revenue and urban development and urban housing (UDUH) departments.

Following a complaint filed by Yogesh Patel, the city crime branch arrested Jaydip Tailor (37) from Isanpur, Jitendrakumar Prajapati (40) from Nava Vadaj, Ankit Pandya (36) from Naroda, and Hitesh Sen from Bapunagar for forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy among other charges. Yogesh reported that he, along with his friends Vijay Thakkar, Ankit Patel, Pradip Sharma, Atul Patel and Jigar Patel, fell victim to this elaborate ruse. He told police that he paid Rs 1.25 crore for the govt position, plus an additional Rs 1.5 lakh for a gun licence. 

Meanwhile, his friends collectively forked over Rs 2.17 crore and another Rs 1.5 lakh for Thakkar’s licence. In total, these four con artists pocketed Rs 3.45 crore from the six aspirants. Yogesh, who holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and law, as well as a master’s degree in commerce, had also pursued a chartered accountancy course up to the intermediate level. He met Prajapati regarding his admission to a law college. Prajapati in troduced him to Tailor, who claimed to have direct connections with senior govt officials and assured him of getting a govt job. According to the complaint, Yogesh told him that he wanted a govt job but was unable to crack the exams and interviews. Tailor informed Yogesh about a vacant deputy collector position in the Ahmedabad collectorate, demanding Rs 2.25 crore to get him the position. Patel was instructed to pay Rs 1.25 crore immediately upon receiving the appointment letter, with an additional Rs 1 crore to follow in instalments after starting the job. Yogesh began by paying Rs 5lakh as a token along with necessary documents.

 In Dec 2022, he  handed over Rs 16 lakh to Tailor, who assured him the appointment letter would arrive shortly. On Dec 20, 2022, he received a letter claiming to be from the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC), complete with a govt ID number. It listed Yogesh’s name and address and directed him to re port within 10 days, signed by the Secretary of GPSC. Yogesh borrowed money from his friends and family to pay Rs 1.19 crore to Jaydip in instalments. Communication continued with Tailor and his accomplices, including officials named Sharma and Modha, who introduced him to Ankit Pandya. Six months later, Tailor mentioned about additional vacancies, prompting Yogesh to introduce Thakkar to him. Thakkar was promised a deputy collector position in Vadodara and later received appointment letter for the deputy director (UDUH) position. Other friends were also drawn into the scam, each making substantial payments for positions in various departments. 

They also made significant payments: Ankit Patel agreed to pay Rs 1.2 crore for an assistant manager position and paid Rs 20 lakh in instalments; Sharma agreed to pay Rs 2 crore of which he paid Rs 25 lakh for the deputy collector position in Mehsana; Atul paid Rs 30 lakh of the promised Rs 2 crore for joint director (UDUH) post at Gandhinagar secretariat; while Jigar paid Rs 22 lakh out of Rs 1.20 crore he promised for the assistant manager position in the industries and mines department. The con artists provided appointment letters through Saini and later requested a bond payment, which Patel complied with, paying Rs 6 lakh. 

They even extorted an additional Rs 1.5 lakh for an arms licence. As delays continued, Yogesh became suspicious. Tailor kept postponing job placements due to the Lok Sabha elections, finally arranging a meeting at the SBI Bank parking lot in Gandhinagar. There, they were introduced to Gamit and Ankit Pandya, who reassured them that job placements were forthcoming, stated the complaint. However, during a visit to Prajapati’s office in Aug 2024, Patel uncovered a shocking twist. He met Pandya driving a vehicle owned by Tailor. Prajapati found that Pandya was actually Tailor’s brother-in-law, exposing the entire fraud.