BHOPAL: Cops on Wednesday busted a fake transfer recommendation letter racket being operated by a cook, who worked at the bungalow of MLA Rampal Singh.
An education department peon, who was deployed in the past at the bungalow of minister Prabhuram Choudhary, is alleged to be his accomplice.
Police nabbed five members of the gang, including the two prime accused, their friend and two typing shop owners.
The fake letterheads were created at their shop.
The accused revealed that they came in contact with each other while working at the bungalows of the VIPs and stole the letterheads, using which, they made the forged copies. One of the accused stole the letterhead from the MLA’s bungalow and sold it to the accused at Rs 5000.
Police are still looking out for the accused, who forged the letterheads of the two Members of Parliament Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Rajgarh MP Rodmal Nagar and Dewas MP Mahendra Solanki. Police will take the nabbed accused on remand from court to interrogate how many transfers they already recommended using the fake letterheads in the past.
ASP (Crime Branch) Gopal Singh Dhakad said that the nabbed accused were identified as Ram Prasad Rahi alias Guptaji, 36, a resident of Sunahri Bagh in Jawahar Chowk, Lakhanlal Dhakad, 35, who hails from Udaypura in Raisen and resides at Nehru Nagar, Ramkrishna Rajput, 31, Dashrath Rajput, 44, both residents of Harda and Ramgopal Parashar, 54, a resident of a government school campus in TT Nagar.
ASP Dhakad said that Ram Prasad Rahi worked as cook at MLA Rampal’s house in the past, while accused Ramgopal Parashar is a peon in education department and worked at Minister Prabhuram Choudhary’s bungalow in the past. The accused Ram Krishna Rajput and his maternal uncle Dashrath Rajput run computer typing shops at Nehru Nagar and TT Nagar respectively. Lakhanlal is Ram Prasad’s friend and the money they took from government employees for transfers were deposited in their bank accounts as well as Ram Prasad’s wife’s bank account and their two friends’ online payment wallet accounts.
ASP Dhakad said cops received information from CM office that fake recommendations for transfers of state government employees made on letterheads of three MPs and an MLA were sent to CM office recommending transfers of 27 education department employees, two revenue department employees and a health department employee. Acting on the complaint, police registered the statements of the employees whose transfers were recommended. During investigation, police found that the money in exchange for transfers was deposited in the account of Ram Prasad and Lakhanlal.
When they were interrogated, the accused revealed the name of Ramgopal Parashar, who provided them the photocopy of letterhead of MLA Rampal Singh.
