A team of Military Intelligence Unit sleuths carried out an operation in association with the Mangaluru North sub-division police squad on Sunday to arrest a man named Manjunath Reddy for allegedly posing as an officer of the Indian Army.
In a press release, the Indian Army said Reddy was arrested from his rented house at Lord Krishna Estate in Surathkal. They recovered Indian Army uniform sets used by him along with a fake army identity card, dependent card and some fake army rubber stamps.
Reddy is accused of posing as a Junior Commissioned Officer and organising felicitation programmes for retired service personnel and families of martyred personnel. He reportedly gained the trust of these personnel and allegedly took money from them for getting jobs.
Accusing Reddy of cheating a large number of people by making false promises, Indian Army said they suspect the involvement of other people, including a few serving personnel. The Military Intelligence Unit and the police are jointly investigating the case.
While reiterating that selection is not done by means of paying money to imposters such as Reddy, the Indian Army said no service personnel will ask for money to provide direct recruitment. The only way to join the army is by registering online on the website www.joinindianarmy.gov.in.
The operation carried out on Sunday was led by Military Intelligence Officer Major Swathi Srivalli Dharwardkar, the release said.
