Pune Police and Military Intelligence Uncover Rs 1.8 Crore Scam Involving 42 Youths in Fake Army Recruitment
Mubarak Ansari
Kondhwa, 13th October 2023: In a joint operation, the military intelligence of the Army’s Southern Command and Pune city police have caught a man for allegedly defrauding 42 youths of Rs 1.8 crore under the pretext of recruiting them into the Indian Army.
Mahesh Pandharinath Dhaka, a 35-year-old farmer from Satara district, has filed a complaint against Pandurang Karale (45) of Sangli district. The Kondhwa police station has registered an FIR against Karale.
According to police, in February 2022, Mahesh Dhaka visited Pune for work and overheard a conversation at the Jyoti Hotel in Kondhwa, where Pandurang Karale claimed to have connections with senior army officers and offered to help with army recruitment. Dhaka then agreed with Karale, who promised to enlist candidates in the Territorial Army for a fee of Rs 6 lakh per candidate.
Over the course of several months, Dhaka collected Rs 1.8 crore from various candidates eager to join the army. The money was handed over to Karale in multiple installments at different locations, including NIBM Chowk in Kondhwa, Pune, Pethnaka in Sangli, Karad in Satara, and Tasgaon in Sangli.
Karale conducted fake medical examinations and even sent hall tickets for a written test via WhatsApp. However, when Dhaka pressed for further details, Karale kept postponing the dates and failed to provide any concrete information.
Dhaka grew suspicious and eventually realized that Karale had no connections with the army. He had been cheated out of Rs 1.8 crore and had also put the futures of 42 young candidates at risk. Dhaka then filed a complaint with the Kondhwa police station, which registered an FIR against Karale for offences related to cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code.
Further investigation is going on.
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