Mumbai Police’s Economic Offenses Wing arrested Nilesh Rathod (35) from Solapur for a ₹2.88 crore fake job scam. Posing as an IAS officer, Rathod promised government jobs, defrauding 36 victims by collecting huge sums and issuing fake appointment letters. The scam unraveled after complaints and investigation revealed forged documents, fake medical tests, and police verifications. Rathod will be produced in court today. According to a Free Press Journal report, the case was initially registered at the Sahar Police Station in the last week of September, based on a complaint filed by Santosh Kharpude, a Navi Mumbai resident. Kharpude alleged that Rathod had collected large sums from job seekers, ranging from ₹4 lakh for assistant posts to ₹6 lakh for inspector positions.
According to the police, Rathod conducted meetings with aspirants at a five-star hotel in Andheri East in May 2023, where he collected ₹10 lakh from each candidate. He even issued fake appointment letters, arranged bogus medical examinations at government hospitals, and provided fabricated police verification documents to make the process look authentic.However, the scam came to light when the victims, who had been waiting months for their joining letters, approached the Income Tax Department and learned that no such recruitment process existed. When questioned, Rathod initially promised to return their money but later went incommunicado.
The police investigation revealed that the accused forged several documents and defrauded the group of job seekers to the tune of ₹2.88 crore. Rathod also claimed he could arrange jobs in the Indian Army through his “connections in Delhi.”The Sahar Police have booked him under Sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), and 340 (use of forged documents) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.