In a significant development, the Bombay High Court has granted bail to Ankush Shahebrao Babar, a former peon in the general administration department of Mantralaya, in connection with a job scam amounting to ₹1.5 crore. Babar, implicated in a scheme that promised government jobs to unsuspecting candidates, was found by the court to lack direct evidence of involvement in the fraudulent activities.
The scam, masterminded by Nitin Sathe and executed with the help of Babar and other accomplices, involved conducting mock interviews and medical examinations for candidates under the guise of offering clerical positions in Mantralaya. The candidates were deceived with counterfeit appointment letters, with the perpetrators amassing a total of ₹1.5 crore from their victims.
The city crime branch’s investigation, culminating in a 450-page chargesheet, detailed the orchestration of the scam involving 35 victims. The scam unravelled after Sagar Jadhav, one of the deceived candidates, lodged a complaint in December 2018, leading to the exposure of the fraudulent operations and the arrest of Babar along with seven others.
Babar’s defence argued that his involvement was limited to using his employee identity card to facilitate the entry of candidates into Mantralaya, without any direct participation in the scam or personal financial gain. Highlighting Babar’s age (60) and the completion of the investigation, the defence pressed for bail.
Contrarily, the prosecution stressed Babar’s integral role in the scam, arguing that his actions, though indirect, contributed significantly to the execution of the fraudulent scheme. The loss inflicted on numerous job seekers was underscored, with the prosecution opposing the bail plea.
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Justice NJ Jamadar, after reviewing the case, noted the absence of direct evidence linking Babar to the inducement of candidates or financial transactions related to the scam. The court took into consideration Babar’s prolonged incarceration, his advanced age, and the low risk of evidence tampering or absconding.
On these grounds, Babar was granted bail on the condition of furnishing a personal recognizance bond of ₹30,000 with sureties. He is required to report regularly to the DCB CID and is prohibited from interfering with the evidence or witnesses.
