Man who impersonated cousin for a BMC job, found dead

Mangesh Pere was found hanging from a tree in his village

A 35-year-old, accused of impersonating his late cousin to get a job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), committed suicide in Buldhana district on Tuesday morning. The accused identified as Mangesh Pere, was booked by the Mulund police on September 28.

In 2013, the BMC held a recruitment drive for the post of security guards. One Dinesh Pralhad Pere from Buldhana, who had applied, got the job following scrutiny of his documents. He was subsequently posted at BMC's Training Center for Security Force at Khindipada in Mulund.

Till December 2020 Pere was regular on duty, however, one day the Buldhana Rural Police visited the BMC office in connection with an offence registered against one Mangesh Haribhau Pere, of criminal intimidation. It was then revealed that Dinesh Pere, was actually Mangesh, who later stopped reporting to work, said the police. Dinesh Pere had died in 2009. The police said he was a graduate while Mangesh Pere had only studied till Std X.

After scrutinising the documents, the BMC approached the Mulund police, which booked Mangesh Pere on the charges of impersonation, cheating and forgery on September 28. "After he stopped going to work, Pere had gone to his native place. He ran a mobile accessories shop in his village. After the registration of an FIR, the BMC had sent a notice of termination of service to his address, that resulted in him taking the drastic step," said an officer from Mulund police station.

On Tuesday, Pere was found hanging from a neem tree in the premises of a school near his house at Buldhana. Prima facie the Buldhana police suspect he took this step due to fear of arrest. His wife had deserted him a year ago.