<p>K P Somashekar, an assistant executive engineer at Bescom, was busy with his official duties at the Vidhana Soudha on May 22 — the first day of the 16th Legislative Assembly — when his phone rang. </p>.<p>The caller was Basanna, Superintending Engineer (Vigilance), from the power utility’s Crescent Road office. Somashekar was asked to come to the office immediately. </p>.<p>What Somashekar discovered after reaching the office stunned him. He was shown an appointment letter issued to one Vaibhav Venkatesh Kulkarni on the Bescom letterhead. </p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/west/case-against-man-for-activating-sim-cards-using-fake-documents-in-maharashtra-1224707.html" target="_blank">Case against man for activating SIM cards using fake documents in Maharashtra</a></strong><br /> </p>.<p>The letter proclaimed that Kulkarni had been appointed to the post of junior assistant at Bescom. It was signed by Assistant Executive Engineer (West), 4th Subdivision, Bescom, and carried the seals of the AEE and the Superintending Engineer (Vigilance). </p>.<p>The signature and the seal were fake. </p>.<p>When Bescom officials confronted Kulkarni, his explanation shocked them even more.</p>.<p>A native of Belagavi, Kulkarni said a father and son from his hometown, claiming to be government employment agents, had taken<br />Rs 20 lakh from him to issue the appointment letter. He was asked to report for work on May 22. </p>.<p>Suspecting that a gang of fraudsters was cheating government job aspirants, Somashekar filed a complaint at the High Grounds police station. </p>.<p>Acting on the complaint, police detained Kulkarni for questioning and then picked up the father-son duo — Vijayakumar S Channanavar, 57, and Shivaprasad V Channanavar, 28,. Police later arrested four more suspects — K Pradeep, 34, S K Purushottam, 49, D Prajwal, 29, Praveen Somanakatti alias Balaraj, 28, and Lohith Gowda, 46. </p>.<p>Police investigations showed that the suspects worked for a private company that provided contract employees to various government departments. To earn extra money, they lured young graduates with the promise of giving them permanent jobs as junior engineers and meter readers in Bescom. </p>.<p>Prajwal and Praveen created the forged documents. </p>.<p>Police confiscated Rs 5.5 lakh in cash, a Toyota Fortuner, a laptop and a printer from the suspects. </p>
<p>K P Somashekar, an assistant executive engineer at Bescom, was busy with his official duties at the Vidhana Soudha on May 22 — the first day of the 16th Legislative Assembly — when his phone rang. </p>.<p>The caller was Basanna, Superintending Engineer (Vigilance), from the power utility’s Crescent Road office. Somashekar was asked to come to the office immediately. </p>.<p>What Somashekar discovered after reaching the office stunned him. He was shown an appointment letter issued to one Vaibhav Venkatesh Kulkarni on the Bescom letterhead. </p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/west/case-against-man-for-activating-sim-cards-using-fake-documents-in-maharashtra-1224707.html" target="_blank">Case against man for activating SIM cards using fake documents in Maharashtra</a></strong><br /> </p>.<p>The letter proclaimed that Kulkarni had been appointed to the post of junior assistant at Bescom. It was signed by Assistant Executive Engineer (West), 4th Subdivision, Bescom, and carried the seals of the AEE and the Superintending Engineer (Vigilance). </p>.<p>The signature and the seal were fake. </p>.<p>When Bescom officials confronted Kulkarni, his explanation shocked them even more.</p>.<p>A native of Belagavi, Kulkarni said a father and son from his hometown, claiming to be government employment agents, had taken<br />Rs 20 lakh from him to issue the appointment letter. He was asked to report for work on May 22. </p>.<p>Suspecting that a gang of fraudsters was cheating government job aspirants, Somashekar filed a complaint at the High Grounds police station. </p>.<p>Acting on the complaint, police detained Kulkarni for questioning and then picked up the father-son duo — Vijayakumar S Channanavar, 57, and Shivaprasad V Channanavar, 28,. Police later arrested four more suspects — K Pradeep, 34, S K Purushottam, 49, D Prajwal, 29, Praveen Somanakatti alias Balaraj, 28, and Lohith Gowda, 46. </p>.<p>Police investigations showed that the suspects worked for a private company that provided contract employees to various government departments. To earn extra money, they lured young graduates with the promise of giving them permanent jobs as junior engineers and meter readers in Bescom. </p>.<p>Prajwal and Praveen created the forged documents. </p>.<p>Police confiscated Rs 5.5 lakh in cash, a Toyota Fortuner, a laptop and a printer from the suspects. </p>
