Man dupes aspirants of Rs 1.65 crore promising govt job

Claiming to be the secretary of an educational institution in Davanagere and a member of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), a man allegedly made away with Rs 1.65 crore promising a man a sub-inspector's job in the excise department.

The Vidhana Soudha police Thursday registered a cheating case against Arun Kumar K H based on a complaint filed by H B Jayadeva, a civil contractor from Davanagere. It has been transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for further investigation.

Arun runs a school in Kundur in Davanagere. With claims that he was appointed a member of KPSC, he said he had high-level contacts. He met Jayadeva in January 2020.

Jayadeva wanted two jobs, one for his brother-in-law and another for his friend’s relative. Arun demanded Rs 70 lakh. The duo paid Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh in two transactions. Ten more people known to Jayadeva paid Arun for jobs. In all, the aspirants paid him Rs 1.65 crore on different dates till September 2020.

Arun called Jayadeva to MS Building to give updates. In September, he demanded a further Rs 10 lakh from Jayadeva, who took time to pay him despite beginning to feel suspicious.

In October, Arun sent him a letter claiming to be from the governor appointing him as a KPSC member, besides giving fake appointment letters signed by the governor to the aspirants.

The fraud came to light when Jayadeva sent the appointment letter for verification to the department concerned and tried calling Arun, whose phone was switched off.

An investigating officer said police are making efforts to nab the absconding Arun. “We suspect many more have fallen victim to the fraudster,” the officer said.