Mumbai: FIR filed against four people for allegedly running job racket from within Mantralaya

It’s not what you think; three real conmen who conducted ‘interviews’ for government jobs in secretariat arrested; what inside help did they have?

An FIR has been filed against four people for allegedly running a job racket from within Mantralaya. The racketeers have allegedly cheated 11 youngsters to the tune of Rs 63.60 lakh. The aspirants had even undergone medical check-ups and participated in interviews. An offence has been registered at the Chembur police station while the Crime Branch is investigating the case. 

Sagar Jadhav, 26, a Malad resident, had written a complaint to the joint commissioner (crime) about the scam in May 2022. After probing the matter, Unit 6 of the Crime Branch registered an FIR at the Chembur police station against the quartet on December 19. According to Jadhav, he came in contact with one Mahendra Sakpal in January 2020.

According to Jadhav, he came in contact with one Mahendra Sakpal, who claimed he had a friend named Nitin Sathe who worked at Mantralaya, in January 2020. Sakpal allegedly told Jadhav that he could help him and his siblings land jobs at the seat of the state government in return for money. Elated, Jadhav handed over R9 lakh in cash as well as education certificates and identification documents to Sakpal in February. In the same month, Jadhav, his sister Priyanka, and brother Akash were called to JJ hospital for a check-up.

The complainant was called to Mantralaya (in pic) for a job interview in December 2020. File pic

“Then came the lockdown and Sakpal kept delaying, claiming recruitment had been stopped. I kept calling him. In September, he demanded Rs 6 lakh, claiming half the work had been done and I had to pay money to complete the process. When I asked him when recruitment would happen, he’d give a new date. Finally, in December 2020, we were called to Mantralaya for an interview,” said Jadhav. By then, the family had paid Sakpal Rs 20 lakh.

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At Mantralaya, the trio met one Sachin Dolas, who claimed to be working in the general administration department (GAD). The siblings were taken to the second floor and asked to sit in a room. Soon, a person who identified himself as Nitin Sathe, the ‘secretary of the GAD’, asked questions to the trio individually. They were then asked to fill up a form that had the head ‘ID Form’ and told that they would receive a joining letter soon. However, they received no such letter.

“On inquiring, we learnt there was no secretary named Nitin Sathe. I also came to know that, like us, many had been duped by Sakpal and Dolas. I wrote to the police commissioner and joint commissioner about the scam. Finally, they have registered an offence,” he said. 

The Crime Branch registered an offence under Sections 420 (cheating) 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 170 (posing as a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.

“We have booked Mahendra Sakpal, Mahadev Shirwale, Sachin Dolas and Nitin Sathe. There are 11 victims, including the siblings, and they have been cheated to the tune of R63.60 lakh,” said a Crime Branch officer. 

Dolas, 40, who turned out to be actually employed as a peon at Mantralaya; Shirwale, 49; and Sathe, 37, were arrested on Monday night. They were produced in court on Tuesday and have been remanded in police custody till December 27. 

Eleven
No. of people cheated

63,60,000
Amount swindled in rupees

2020
The year when complainant encountered conman

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