Bilaspur (HP), Apr 22 (PTI) A case of cheating has been registered in Himachal’s Bilaspur district after four ex-servicemen were duped of Rs 20.35 lakhs by fraudsters on the pretext of getting jobs, police said on Tuesday.

The matter came to light after a retired soldier, Kamlesh Kumar, a resident of the district’s Ghumarwin town, registered a complaint against three people.

According to the complainant, when Kamlesh Kumar retired from the Army in 2022, one of his colleagues, Trilok Chand, informed him that a person named Sanjay Thakur alias Lucky from Bhated village in Hamirpur district could help him get a job at a bank.

While engaging with him, Kamlesh Kumar was told about an opportunity at the Bank of Baroda for which a sum of Rs 7 lakh would be required.

Kumar, therefore, transferred Rs 5,000 to Sanjay Thakur on May 26, 2022, and Rs 30,000 to Sanjay’s partner Nitish Kumar’s account on May 28.

  During this time, Kamlesh Kumar’s three other colleagues, also from the Army, came in contact with the accused — Thakur, Nitish Kumar and Lovepreet Singh — and gave money to get hired. Thus, in total, four ex-servicemen gave money for jobs.

  Kamlesh was cheated of Rs 8.85 lakh, Ghanshyam of Delhi of Rs 9 lakh, Sheeshram of Rajasthan of Rs 1.5 lakh and Omaram of Rajasthan of Rs 1 lakh rupee.

In the complaint, it is mentioned that the accused gave them fake joining letters. When there was no appointment for a long time, and the accused kept avoiding answering their calls, Kamlesh Kumar and his companions suspected fraud.

  Ghumarwin DSP Chandrapal Singh said that the police were investigating the matter.

People are appealed not to give money to anyone in the name of getting a job and immediately inform the police in such cases, he added. PTI COR BPL AMJ AMJ AMJ