ED raids multiple locations nationwide in fake government job case

New Delhi [India], January 8 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted nationwide searches against an organised gang involved in a fake government job scam that duped aspirants by offering fraudulent appointments across multiple government departments.

The raids are underway from early morning at 15 locations across India. The agency's Patna Zonal office is conducting the search operations at three places in Bihar, two in West Bengal, four in Kerala, one in Tamil Nadu, one in Gujarat, and four in Uttar Pradesh in close coordination with state police forces.

The places being searched included Muzaffarpur (one) and Motihari (two) in Bihar; Kolkata (two) in West Bengal; one each in Ernakulam, Pandalam, Adoor and Kodur in Kerala; Chennai (one) in Tamil Nadu; Rajkot (one) in Gujarat; and Gorakhpur (two), Prayagraj (one) and Lucknow (one) in Uttar Pradesh.

Officials said the scam, initially detected in the name of Indian Railways, was later found to have spread to over 40 government organisations and departments, including the Forest Department, Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), Indian Post, Income Tax Department, High Courts, Public Works Department (PWD), Bihar Government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Rajasthan Secretariat, among others.

The officials, privy to the case, said the investigations revealed that the accused used fake email accounts impersonating official government domains to issue forged appointment and joining letters.

"To gain trust, they made initial salary payments for two to three months to some victims, who were placed in roles like RPF personnel, Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) and Technicians in Indian Railways," they added.