FOLLOWING an input from Military Intelligence, the Pune City Police has arrested a 32-year-old man who allegedly posed as an Army Officer and cheated aspiring candidates to the Army. Sleuths from the Crime Branch of the Pune City Police were working on an input from Military Intelligence unit of the Southern Command. On Saturday, following a joint operation, a suspect, Rafiq Jamadar (32), was arrested under Indian Penal Code Sections 170 (personating a public servant) and 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent). "We have seized an Army uniform of the ordnance pattern and some fake documents identifying him as Army officer. Initial probe suggests that the suspect was posing as an Army officer on social media and approaching aspiring candidates on the pretext of giving them jobs in the defence sector. He has also visited campuses of some defence establishments in the past," said an officer who is part of the probe. Multiple cases of people posing as Army personnel have been unearthed by various police jurisdictions following inputs from Military Intelligence. These cases have been reported from Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts, in which imposters posing as Army officers or personnel, wearing Army uniform and posting photos in Army uniforms on social media, have been arrested. In the context of the presence of several key defence establishments in these districts, such cases of impersonation pose a serious threat to security, officials have said. In many of these cases the suspects were found to have taken money from job aspirants on the pretext of helping them get defence jobs.
