Days after a civilian employee of the National Defense Academy (NDA) died allegedly by suicide, a joint investigation by the Indian Army’s Southern Command’s Military Intelligence (MI) unit and Pune city police on Thursday revealed that he was linked to men allegedly involved in a fake recruitment racket.
Police said Mayur Chandrakant Pawar, 32, who works as an orderly cadet in the NDA, Khadakwasla, was found dead on the academy campus on January 8th. Based on an alleged suicide note, the police initially suspected that he had taken an extreme step due to financial problems.
The police, with the help of the MARRYarrested Pawar’s friend Swapnil Murlidhar Gaikwad, 33, a former NDA staffer now posted at a defense establishment in AhmedabadGujarat, in connection with a recruitment business.
Dinesh Rathod, 37, a shop owner from Ram Nagar, Yerwada, and a relative of Pawar, lodged the First Information Report (FIR) in this case at the Lakshmi Nagar police station in Pune city on January 20.
Sub Engineer Job Offer in Railways for Rs 8 Lakh
According to the FIR, the complainant Rathod runs an “optics workshop” in Vishrantwad and his wife is a graduate in electronic engineering.
The FIR stated that in August 2023, Pawar, along with Swapnil Gaikwad, visited Rathod’s house. Gaikwad allegedly offered a job as a “sub-engineer” in Railways to Rathod’s wife through a friend, Sagar Digambar Patil, 35. Gaikwad claimed that Patil works as a minister’s personal assistant in Mantralaya, the FIR recorded.
Talking to Rathod over the phone, Patil apparently assured him that he would get his wife a job in the railways within six months, for a payment of Rs 8 lakh. Rathod gets money with the help of family. Rathod then told Mayur Pawar that Rs 8 lakh would be deposited in his bank account and he should transfer it to Gaikwad, according to the FIR.
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Pawar allegedly asked Rathod to think carefully before giving him the money. But Rathod believed that Gaikwad, being a member of Pawar’s NDA staff, would not mislead them, the FIR stated.
After receiving Rs 8 lakh, Pawar can transfer Rs 5.5 lakh to Sagar Patil’s bank account as per Gaikwad’s instructions. Once again, Gaikwad assured Pawar that he would provide employment in the railways to more people, according to the FIR.
Rathod and his two cousins allegedly paid Rs 19.15 lakh (some in cash and the rest in bank accounts) to Gaikwad Patil, but did not get the jobs secured.
Fake list of people recruited for NDA
The FIR stated that Gaikwad allegedly sent a list of people to Pawar on WhatsApp, claiming that he had recruited them for the NDA. Pawar sent the same list to Rathod, who verified it and found that none of them were recruited by the NDA.
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Rathod then went to Gaikwad’s workplace in Ahmedabad and spoke to his senior officials. The FIR said Gaikwad returned Rs 5 lakh to Rathod but did not pay the remaining amount of Rs 14.15 lakh.
After Pawar’s death by suicide, Rathod filed an FIR against Gaikwad and Patil under sections 318 (4) (cheating) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
MI officials confirmed that Gaikwad was picked up from Ahmedabad and brought to Pune on Thursday for further investigation. MI sources said Gaikwad’s transfer request from the NDA, Kahdakwasla, was approved by the army authorities in February 2024, and he was later posted to a defense establishment in Ahmedabad.
According to the MI, an investigation so far has revealed that Gaikwad and Patil have duped at least three candidates by accepting Rs 24 lakh from them with false promises of government jobs. The search has been on for Patil, a native of Jalgaon.
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Police are investigating whether more people are involved in the alleged scam, including defense employees. It is also being investigated whether the accused have deceived more people.