Man Nabbed for Duping People on Pretext of Giving Govt Jobs

New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) A 50-year-old man was arrested from East Delhi on Friday for allegedly duping more than 10 people to the tune of Rs 1.63 crore on the pretext of providing them government jobs, police said.

The accused, Javed Akhtar, used to impersonate a public relations officer of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, they said.

According to a complaint at the Laxmi Nagar police station in April by Shyam Dev Prasad Singh, a retired school teacher from Bihar, one Pramod Sharma approached him and offered him a government job for his unemployed son and other relatives.

Police said Akhtar had cheated the complainant and his relatives by giving them fake appointments letters and advertisements in the newspaper to assure the victims.

Singh also mentioned the names of nine other people who have been duped.

In 2004, Sharma told Singh about Akhtar and introduced him as an IAS officer from 1983 batch.

In his complaint, Singh mentioned that Sharma informed him about vacancies in several government institutions and Akhtar could help in getting those jobs. In December 2004, they met Akhtar at a hotel in Laxmi Nagar, where Akhtar and his associates asked them to pay Rs 20 lakh to get a job of a clerk and Rs 10 lakh to become a peon.

Singh said the accused showed him and his family members advertisements and press releases of their appointments in the offices.

"In 2007, Akhtar demanded more money and a year after, he told us that we have been selected for the jobs. Later, we found that there were no such jobs. When we tried to contact him, Akhtar and his associates, they did not take our calls," Singh said in his complaint.

Last year, Singh found Akhtar at his residence in Laxmi Nagar area.

He alleged that Akhtar gave an affidavit to them declaring that he will return the entire money, but the accused fled after that and Singh received calls from him threatening him not to file a complaint, police said.

"Akhtar was the prime accused in the case and was arrested on Friday. We have registered a case against him under the Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 406 (criminal breach of trust)," a senior police officer said.

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