Man booked for forging signs of CM, others to cheat people

Mandya: Mandya police have booked a man on charges of duping gullible people by forging the signature of CM Siddaramaiah even as Mandya district minister N Cheluvarayaswamy said the govt has taken the case seriously.
Addressing the job scam in which the accused allegedly forged the CM's signature, the minister said the govt has taken up the case seriously and strict action will be taken against all those who are involved. I spoke to the IGP (Southern Range) and Mandya SP and instructed them to probe the case in depth, he told reporters.
An FIR was lodged against H C Venkatesh at Mandya East police station, after a woman was cheated of a large sum of money. Venkatesh allegedly told her that he could secure a govt position for her son as a deputy director in the public education department, and also forged the CM's signature to produce a fake appointment order, police stated on Friday.
Hitherto, Venkatesh is said to have cheated more than 40 people, many of whom have approached Mandya police to file complaints.
According to police, Venkatesh, a resident of Tavaregere in Mandya, allegedly used a fake ID card to make others believe that he worked as a first-division clerk at Vidhana Soudha. He allegedly exploited the names of influential public figures, including the CM and officers and also forged their signatures, they stated.
Police said 36 years old Venkatesh allegedly forged the CM's signature to deceive a man, promising him a govt job in the commercial taxes department. In exchange for money, he gave him a fake appointment letter to be an assistant commercial tax officer, police said.
SP Mallikarjun Baladandi told TOI that Venkatesh has duped over 40 people by promising them jobs in various govt departments. Based on the complaints, Venkatesh was arrested on Feb 16. During a search at his house, police seized fake govt seals he was allegedly using to create counterfeit documents, the SP stated, adding they have taken Venkatesh into custody for further investigation.