Maharashtra: Fake army recruitment racket busted in Pune, one held

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], October 13 (ANI): In a joint operation, the military intelligence unit (Southern Command Liaison Unit) of the Army and Pune city police busted a fake recruitment racket and apprehended a man for allegedly defrauding 42 youths of Rs 1.8 crore under the pretext of recruiting them into the Army, the officials said on Friday.
The accused have been identified as Pandurang Karale, aged 45 years, hailing from Sangli district of Maharashtra.
According to the officials, the complainant Mahesh Pandharinath Dhaka, aged 35 years, a farmer from Satara district, had filed a complaint against the accused following which an FIR was registered in Kondhwa Police station of Pune city police on Thursday.
The Kondhwa police registered an FIR against Karale for offences related to cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code.

"In February 2022, Mahesh Dhaka visited Pune for work and overheard a conversation at a restaurant in the Kondhwa area, where the accused 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," the officials said.
As per the officials, over the course of several months, the accused collected Rs 1.8 crore from various candidates eager to join the army. The money was handed over to Karale in multiple instalments at different locations including Kondhwa, Pune.
"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," the officials further stated.
Further investigation is underway. (ANI)