Fake job offer on excise commissioner’s letterhead, police launch probe

Police are searching for unidentified miscreants who distributed a fake appointment letter for a 'D' Group employee, using the excise commissioner's official letterhead.

The fraudulent letter was circulated on WhatsApp and eventually reached officials of the excise department.

Umashankar B, a senior official with the department in Shantinagar, has lodged a complaint at the Wilson Garden police station. He stated that Commissioner J Ravi Shankar forwarded him an appointment letter, received via WhatsApp, and asked him to verify its authenticity and take appropriate action.

On verification, the letter was found to be forged. The commissioner received the letter on June 14. The letter, bearing the commissioner's name and number 3678/23-24, states that Excise Minister R B Thimmapur issued an order appointing Keerthi Kumar R as a permanent employee for the peon post (D Group) through internal methods.

The candidate is instructed to report for duty on June 22, with all the necessary documents, at the excise department office located on the second floor of the TTMC building in Shanthinagar. The appointment order will be issued on the day the candidate reports for duty. Failure to do so will result in the cancellation of the order.

The letter incorrectly mentions the excise commissioner’s name as Dr J Ravi Kumar, IAS, instead of the correct name, Dr J Ravi Shankar, IAS.

Umashankar told police that not only is the letter fake, but there is also no internal process for appointing 'D' Group employees.

He told DH: "Unknown people have misused the excise commissioner's letterhead and wrongly mentioned his name. They have also misused the minister’s name. We will wait till June 22 to see if someone named Keerthi Kumar R comes to our office to report for duty to learn more details."

Officials are uncertain if similar fake letters have been issued. A senior officer said a case of cheating, forgery, forgery for the purpose of cheating, and using a fake as genuine has been registered at the Wilson Garden police station. Further investigation is underway.