Pune, 30 January 2026: A job fraud racket that cheated unemployed youth by falsely promising recruitment as sub-engineers in the Indian Railways has been busted in Pune. The Yerawada Police have registered a case against two accused, and one of them has been arrested from Ahmedabad following a joint operation by Army Intelligence (Southern Command) and Pune Police.
The complainant, Dinesh Shankar Rathod (37), a resident of Ramnagar, Yerawada, alleged that the accused lured his relatives with assurances of railway jobs by claiming to have strong connections within the department. The arrested accused has been identified as Swapnil Murlidhar Gaikwad (33), a civil staff employee with the defence department, currently posted in Ahmedabad.
He had earlier worked at the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. The second accused, Sagar Digambar Patil (35) from Jalgaon district, is also named in the case.
According to police, Gaikwad falsely projected Patil as having influence in the Railways and assured confirmed appointments. Over several months, the accused collected money from the complainant and his relatives, citing job-related expenses. Payments were made in cash as well as through bank transfers and UPI transactions, amounting to ₹19.15 lakh.
When the promised jobs did not materialise and the accused began avoiding contact, the complainant suspected fraud and approached the Yerawada Police. A case of cheating has since been registered.
Investigations have revealed that at least three more individuals were similarly cheated by the accused. Police are now examining financial transactions, bank accounts, and call records to trace the money trail and identify more victims.