JAMMU, Oct 5: In a major crackdown on white-collar crime, the Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police has registered five separate cases against 16 individuals for their alleged involvement in a series of high-value frauds, including job scams, visa rackets, forged legal documents, and misappropriation of government funds. Among those named are top executives of a Chandigarh-based company, government officials, and even a lawyer, who collectively duped more than 50 people of crores of rupees through deceitful schemes.
One of the prominent cases involves Messrs Saphire, a Chandigarh-based firm, and its owner, Jass Bajwa. Acting on a complaint by Prem Nath from Samba, investigators found that Bajwa and his associates had defrauded the complainant of ₹17.09 lakh under the pretext of arranging an overseas visa. Others named in the FIR include the company’s manager, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, counsellor Gagan, refund-in-charge Devinder Singh, and authorised signatory Shalika. Despite receiving the payment, the firm neither arranged the visa nor refunded the money, leading to criminal charges.
In another major case, Choudhary Mushtaq of Rajouri was booked for orchestrating a large-scale job scam, cheating 41 people of ₹1.43 crore by promising them positions in the Territorial Army and issuing fake appointment letters. Similarly, two Samba residents, Hem Raj and Kavya Nayyar, were accused of swindling Avinash Singh from Bhaderwah of ₹18.55 lakh by falsely promising him a managerial job with the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in Katra.
The investigation has also exposed a case of government fund siphoning involving officials of the Jammu Power Development Corporation Limited in Batote, Ramban. The officials allegedly forged the signature of a retired executive engineer, Shakti Singh, and illegally withdrew large sums from the department’s accounts. This case was registered following a court directive after Singh filed a formal complaint.
Additionally, an FIR has been registered against three individuals, including a lawyer, based on a complaint by Nasir Ali from Poonch, who alleged that they had forged an affidavit in a compensation-related case, thereby committing fraud.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Crime Jammu, Benam Tosh, said that the registration of these cases reflects the Crime Branch’s intensified efforts to crack down on financial crimes and hold fraudsters accountable. All cases are under investigation, and efforts are on to trace the accused, recover defrauded money, and dismantle the networks behind these scams.