The Halol Rural Police in the Panchmahal district of Gujarat have arrested a man accused of running a statewide government job racket by posing as a high-ranking official from the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The suspect, identified as Bharat Parmar, allegedly targeted unemployed youth and their families by exploiting their desire for stable public sector employment.
Investigators believe that the fraud extends far beyond the ₹68 lakh unearthed so far, with a strong possibility that numerous other victims across multiple districts in Gujarat have been duped. Despite having studied only up to Class VII, Parmar reportedly succeeded in constructing an elaborate web of deception.
Deceptive Network of Agents Uncovered across the State
Preliminary investigations indicate that Parmar did not operate in isolation but had established an organized network of agents across Gujarat. These agents were tasked with identifying vulnerable job seekers and convincing them that lucrative government appointments could be secured through Parmar’s high-level bureaucratic influence. The accused allegedly promised candidates direct recruitment into prestigious public sector organizations, including the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and other statutory public entities.
To make the recruitment offers appear completely genuine, the syndicate provided victims with fabricated interview call letters, forged appointment-related documents, and fabricated official correspondence. All these forged materials bore the forged names and insignia of legitimate government institutions. The elaborate operation eventually began to unravel after multiple victims realized they had been deceived and approached local police stations with similar grievances.
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Complainant Key to Unraveling the Recruitment Racket
According to Halol Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) V.J. Rathod, a major breakthrough was achieved after Manubhai Patel, a retired railway employee, filed a detailed complaint detailing his interactions with the fraudster. Patel informed law enforcement that he first came into contact with Parmar in 2020. During their initial meeting, Parmar introduced himself as a director within the FCI and claimed to wield immense influence and deep contacts across various federal and state departments. He assured Patel that securing a permanent government position would be a straightforward process through his personal administrative network.
Persuaded by these assertions, Patel sought to arrange a secure job for his son within ONGC. To secure the promised appointment, Parmar allegedly collected a total sum of ₹7,78,950 from Patel through a combination of Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) bank transactions and direct cash payments. Following the payment, Parmar handed over what appeared to be an official corporate call letter. However, despite receiving the document, no interview process, background verification procedure, or formal recruitment activity ever materialized. When Patel’s doubts grew, he repeatedly demanded a full refund. The accused returned approximately ₹3 lakh but failed to repay the remaining balance.
Police Seize Forged Institutional Documents Following Hotel Trap
Armed with the evidence provided by Patel and other victims, the Halol Rural Police launched a targeted surveillance operation and laid a trap to capture the suspect. Parmar was eventually cornered and apprehended at a guest hotel located on the Halol-Godhra bypass road. The successful arrest opened the door to a large trove of incriminating evidence kept by the fraudster. Officers recovered more than 15 bank passbooks belonging to different accounts, eight mobile phones, duplicate FCI letterheads, forged appointment letters, and numerous other falsified documents suspected to have been used to run the statewide racket.
Following his arrest, Parmar was produced before a local court and officially remanded to police custody for further interrogation. Investigators believe that closer custodial questioning could reveal the full scope of the operational network, expose other victims, and identify secondary accomplices. Police are also planning a deeper probe into the specific roles played by the accused’s driver and his close associates. To ensure a comprehensive investigation, the Halol Rural Police have circulated detailed information about Parmar to law enforcement agencies across Gujarat to cross-reference additional complaints and potential links to similar fraud cases.
