Amravati youth pays Rs 4 lakh for fake government job

Pune: Posing as a driver at the Mumbai collectorate, a Navi Mumbai-based man allegedly cheated a young man of his hopes of a government job. Vaibhav Mohan Lakras, 27, claims that the impersonator offered him a fake appointment letter in September 2015 and asked for a donation of Rs 4 lakh to secure a post in the Public Works Department (PWD). Lakras, who was preparing for the competitive exams and pursuing a Masters in Computer Applications, now works in the fields in his hometown Amravati.

He said Dattatray Kanade pretended to be a driver at the Mumbai collectorate with good contacts with government officials. "He told me that the post for junior clerk was available and that Sambhaji Sawant [a private placement consultant residing in Badalapur] would help me. I was first asked to pay R1 lakh, which was raised to R4 lakh later on grounds that there was a lot of competition."

On September 18, 2015, Lakras received a letter from the Maharashtra Shashan claiming that he had been selected and would be drawing a salary as per the provision of Class Three post in the range of Rs 20,200.

"My father mortgaged his farm to pay R4 lakh. I was asked to join the PWD in Aurangabad but I wanted Amravati as it's my hometown. When I went with the letter to Aurangabad, I realised I had been conned," said Lakras. Through the Right to Information Act, he found out that the appointment letter was fake.

Inspector Vishnu Pawar, in-charge of Hadapsar police station, said, "We are investigating the case and we shall soon register an FIR." When mid-day contacted Kanade, he said, "I am a driver for a private vehicle and it's not me who has cheated but Sambhaji Sawant, whom I had met at Mantralaya. I have been cheated too."