Two cheated of 17.6L in postmaster job scam

Surat: Two persons were allegedly cheated of Rs 17.60 lakh after being lured with promises of postmaster jobs in the Indian Post Department, with the accused posing as govt officials and using fake assurances, documents and messages to deceive the victims, police said.

Athwalines police have booked Bhupendra Sharma and his aide Brijesh Patel for cheating and forgery and initiated further investigation into the case.

According to police, the complainant Manoj Solanki, who runs a legal NGO assisting people in court-related work, first met the main accused Sharma in Feb 2024 through a friend. Sharma allegedly introduced himself as a mamlatdar and claimed he had contacts in the postal department through which he could arrange government jobs for unemployed candidates.

Following this, when Solanki was approached regarding a job opportunity for his cousin’s son, he arranged a meeting with Sharma in Surat. During the meeting, Sharma allegedly assured a postmaster job and demanded Rs 10 lakh for the same. An advance payment of Rs 8.50 lakh was made through UPI by the victim’s family.

Later, Solanki contacted his friend Jitu Vaghela, a resident of Bhavnagar, and discussed the alleged postal department job opportunity. Vaghela informed him that his relative Rajesh Vaghela was seeking employment for his son Keyur. Following this, Rajesh Vaghela travelled to Surat, where a meeting was held with the accused Sharma. During the meeting, Sharma allegedly offered a postmaster job to Rajesh Vaghela for Rs 10 lakh as well, following which an advance payment of Rs 9.10 lakh was transferred to him.

Police said that after a few months, the victims started receiving messages from a sender titled ‘BP-GUJPST’, claiming that documents had been submitted and verified. Sharma then allegedly demanded the remaining amount, stating that appointments had been finalised for post offices in Surat and Bhavnagar.

To gain further credibility, Sharma allegedly sent fake courier details and tracking numbers. His aide Brijesh Patel also reportedly contacted the victims, introducing himself as a Navsari postmaster and assuring them that appointment letters would be issued shortly.

Sharma allegedly claimed that the money had been used to pay bribes to postal officials and later returned a partial amount of Rs 1.9 lakh to Vaghela.

After failing to recover the remaining amount both victims lodged a complaint with Athwalines police, following which a case of cheating and forgery was registered.