Ex-armyman dupes many with job promise, held

JAIPUR: An ex-serviceman, Ramchandra, who is an absconder from the army, has been caught by Jodhpur ATS, for scamming people with the promise of getting them recruited in the defence forces. He used to charge Rs 3.7 lakh per person, and marksheets as well as other documents of 40 youths along with fake stamps, call letters etc were also recovered from his residence after his arrest.

Ramchandra was commissioned in the army as a sepoy but after serving only for five years, absconded in 2014.

Umesh Mishra, additional director general police ATS and SOG said, “ATS and military intelligence had confirmed reports that Ramchandra was scamming people of lakhs in Suratgarh in the name of getting them jobs in the army. A team of ATS officials in contact with officials of military intelligence started surveillance of the probable areas in Suratgarh, where Ramchandra would take money from those he had promised jobs. During one such operation he was caught.”

According to the officials, the ex-armyman apparently used his identity card issued by the Indian Army, which he still had after absconding, to make the locals believe that he could get them recruited. He would collect his ‘fee’ from them and subsequently would send fake joining letters marked at their residence via post.

He had targeted around 50 youths from Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Nagaur and Bikaner districts, skimming off approximately Rs 1 crore from all of them. This is not the first time that the fraudster has been found on the wrong side of the law and he has been arrested for fraud earlier as well. He is also one of the accused in a case of gang-rape in Hanumangarh in 2017, for which he was arrested as well.