Bengaluru: A tip-off from military intelligence (MI) led Bilagi police in Bagalkot to two men posing as ex-servicemen, who allegedly collected copies of educational documents and demanded money from students after promising jobs in the army.According to the FIR dated Sept 23, a case was registered against Dhakalu Bhimarav Lakkebailkar and Veeranna Basavanneppa Nichchanni of Khanapur taluk under BNS Sections 316(2) and 318(3).The FIR said nine victims, aged between 21 and 23, were approached by the accused, who allegedly promised to help them secure appointments in the army. “The modus operandi of touts is to cheat aspirants with false promises. In most cases, they have no connection with personnel involved in recruitment and take money from aspirants who have cleared the process through their own efforts,” an MI officer in Bengaluru, whose team was involved in the operation, told TOI.MI sources said all nine victims were students. According to the complaint, they had gone to Vijayapura in connection with an army recruitment process. The accused told the students they would arrange the required medical examination and subsequently help them obtain appointment orders. “The accused sought Rs 50,000 for medical examination and said another Rs 2 lakh would have to be paid after appointment orders were received. The students allegedly agreed to the arrangement but did not make the payment immediately,” the complaint said.The accused agreed to collect copies of the students’ educational and other documents, which included records required for recruitment. “Once we had information, we got the victims to communicate to the accused that they were ready to pay. We informed police who detained the accused on Sept 23,” the MI officer said.The alleged activity came to the attention of No. 3 PSS SCIB (MI), which subsequently passed the information to police, the FIR said.
