Citizens bring fake govt job appointment racket to light

Krishna Kamulkar was sweetly surprised when his wife received an offer letter from the government for a forest guard's position; but his excitement was short-lived when he realised that someone was trying to dupe him. "My wife never applied for a government job. When we received the letter, we were happy but we read the details and immediately realised that it is fake. The letter was asking us to pay Rs 15,200 before joining duty for training. This alarmed us," says Krishna.

Not just Kamulkar but citizens across Goa have received such letters. Reports are even coming in from Canacona, the southernmost taluka of Goa bordering with Karnataka.

The fake offer letter has the central government emblem at the top but offers a job in the service of the government of Goa. It is posted from Faridabad and signed by a director of the department but doesn't carry any name of the official. "We immediately informed authorities and requested them to alert people as someone may end up being a victim of it," Kamulkar said.

Police are currently looking into the matter and have advised people not to pay money if such a letter is received. "When I realised that people from my area were receiving these letters, I immediately contacted the forest department, asking for clarification. They told me that no vacancies for forest guards have been advertised. We then approached the police," says Nilesh Narvekar, local councilor from Vasco.