Rajkot Crime Branch books four in bogus appointment letter scam

Rajkot: The City Crime Branch has apprehended four individuals, one of whom presented a counterfeit appointment letter in order to secure a position in the Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) without having passed the required examination. The other accused individuals were complicit in creating the fake appointment letter.

It is learnt that a person named Pradeep Makwana (24 years old) was nabbed for trying to secure a job in the city LDR based on a fabricated appointment letter. The Reserve PI has registered a police complaint against Pradeep Makwana from Jasdan, his father Bharat Makwana, Pradeep Makwana’s maternal uncle Bhavesh Chavda, and Bala Chavda at the Crime Branch. All the accused have been taken into custody. The police complaint revealed that Pradeep Makwana and Bharat Makwana had paid ₹4,00,000 to Bhavesh Chavda and Bala Chavda to acquire fraudulent appointment orders for Lok Rakshak positions. All the accused are booked under IPC sections 465, 467, 468, 471, 474, and 120 (B).

According to the sources, 29 such counterfeit appointment letters have been found in the possession of the accused.

The Lokrakshak Recruitment Board 2021 oversaw the recruitment process, which assigned a total of 332 candidates to Rajkot. On August 19, 2023, at 12:00 pm at the Police Headquarters, Pradeep Makwana arrived and claimed that he had been appointed as an unarmed constable through the competitive examination conducted by the Constable Recruitment Board 2021. He presented a counterfeit appointment letter purportedly signed by the Commissioner of Police, Rajkot city. Upon verifying the records, it was revealed that the candidate named Mehul Tarmbudia had been chosen and was currently undergoing training at the police headquarters in Rajkot.

It was revealed that Pradeep Makwana had applied for the competitive exam for Lokrakshak Recruitment 2021. However, he failed the physical ability test. Makwana informed his uncle Bhavesh Chavda about this, and Bhavesh claimed that his brother Bala had connections within the Recruitment Board and could procure an appointment letter for Pradeep for a sum of Rs. 4 lakh. Subsequently, Pradeep’s father made an advance payment of Rs. 2 lakh. The remaining two lakh rupees were to be paid upon receiving the order by post.

On July 25, 2023, Pradeep received the same counterfeit appointment letter by post, indicating his selection as Lok Rakshasa. Furthermore, on August 9, 2023, a call was made from Gandhinagar LRD Bhavan from a mobile number, instructing him to appear before the police on August 19, 2023, at Rajkot city. After this call, Pradeep showed up at Police Headquarters, after which this scam came to light. DeshGujarat