Pharma Executive Loses Rs 26 Lakh in Fake Government Job Promise
Bengaluru: Four persons have been booked by the Vidhana Soudha Police in Bengaluru for allegedly cheating a senior manager of a private pharmaceutical company of Rs 26 lakh after falsely promising to secure him a Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) post in the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department.
According to the police complaint, the victim, G.K. Raghunandan (36), a senior manager at a private pharmaceutical company in Whitefield, came into contact with the prime accused, Santosh Hosamani, in December 2024. Santosh allegedly claimed that he was an employee of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and had strong political connections and influence with officials in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) as well as staff working in various government departments.
Police stated that Santosh allegedly assured Raghunandan that he could secure him a PDO post for ₹50 lakh. Believing the promise, the complainant initially paid ₹10 lakh in cash to the accused during the second week of December 2024. Subsequently, he allegedly paid another ₹16 lakh in multiple instalments, taking the total amount handed over to ₹26 lakh.
When the promised appointment order did not materialise, Raghunandan repeatedly questioned Santosh about the delay. During this period, a person identifying himself as "Rao" allegedly contacted the complainant from a landline number purportedly associated with the KPSC office, assuring him that the PDO appointment had been finalised. The caller reportedly contacted him several more times from different landline numbers, repeatedly claiming that the appointment process was complete.
However, after months passed without any appointment letter and Santosh allegedly stopped responding to his calls, Raghunandan realised that he had been cheated and approached the police.
Based on the complaint, the Vidhana Soudha Police registered a case against Santosh Hosamani, Rao, Mahesh Kumar and Basavaraj under charges of cheating. Police have issued notices to the accused and initiated further investigation into the alleged job fraud to ascertain the role of each accused and determine whether others were involved in the racket.
According to The Hindu report, the accused allegedly lured the pharmaceutical company manager with the promise of a government job, collected ₹26 lakh over several months, and falsely reassured him through calls purportedly made from KPSC landline numbers before ultimately disappearing.
