The Ahmedabad Crime Branch registered a case against four persons for defrauding five youths of ₹3.45 crore by falsely promising direct recruitment as Deputy Collectors without having to give the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) exams.
As per the complaint, the accused lured the victims with promises of government jobs and also provided fake appointment letters to gain their trust.
The accused demanded ₹1 crore to ₹1.25 crore per position. The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has initiated legal proceedings, and further investigation has revealed the possibility that the accused may have similarly defrauded others.
The victims were given counterfeit appointment letters to create trust. Police believe more revelations may emerge as the investigation proceeds.
As per the case details, Yogeshbhai Patel, a resident of Krish Exotica Apartments in Nikol, filed the complaint with the Crime Branch.
He met one Jitendra Prajapati four years ago when seeking admission to an LLB course at his office in Mirzapur’s Kama Commercial Complex. During this time, he was introduced to Jaldeep Tailor, who claimed to be a lawyer with close ties to high-ranking government officials capable of securing government jobs through GPSC.
Jaldeep told Yogeshbhai that a vacancy for Deputy Collector in Ahmedabad was available and offered to arrange the appointment for a payment of ₹1.25 crore, requiring ₹1.15 crore upfront and the remaining amount once the job was secured.
Yogeshbhai agreed and paid ₹5 lakh as a client fee to begin the process. Shortly afterwards, Jaldeep and his associate Hitesh Saini took ₹16 lakh from Yogeshbhai, promising an appointment as Deputy Collector within ten days. They even provided a letter signed by the GPSC Secretary to reinforce the legitimacy of their claim.
In total, Yogeshbhai paid ₹1.19 crore before realising the scam, as no job materialised. Jaldeep also convinced Yogeshbhai to recommend others, leading to further fraudulent deals.
Additionally, Yogeshbhai’s business partner, Vijaybhai Thakkar, was also defrauded of ₹1.20 crore after being promised a Deputy Collector position in Vadodara.
Similarly, Ankit Patel paid ₹5 lakh after being offered an Assistant Manager’s post at GMDC, with a deal amounting to ₹2 crore. Atul Patel was promised a Joint Director post in Gandhinagar, for which ₹1.20 crore was agreed upon, of which ₹22 lakh was paid. However, all victims received fake appointment letters.
In another instance, the accused collected ₹3 lakh as a fee for obtaining a gun licence, falsely assuring that the appointments would be finalised once the licence was issued.
They continued to give false assurances by citing reasons such as the Lok Sabha elections to delay the process. The accused even took the victims to meet two individuals, Gaameti and Ankit Pandya, in Gandhinagar to further reinforce the legitimacy of their promises.
Once it was discovered that the appointment letters were fraudulent, a formal complaint was lodged with the Crime Branch, leading to charges being filed against Jaldeep Tailor, Hitesh Saini, Jitendra Prajapati, and Ankit Pandya.
Crime Branch InspectorJ H Sindhav said, “We have arrested all four accused in the matter and further investigation is on.”