A CBI chargesheet filed in a city court alleged that two men from Chennai duped individuals of ₹25 lakh by claiming they were officials deputed by a Union minister to a bogus anti-corruption organization.
Fake Anti-Corruption Body Created to Lure Victims
The accused, Reningston Sales and Vincent Raju, allegedly created a fake organisation called the “Anti Corruption and Anti Crime (ACAC) Wing.” They deceived victims by posing as senior office bearers of this non-existent entity.
In an attempt to lend credibility to their scheme, the duo set up fake offices in Chennai. They also provided a fictional address in Paharganj, Delhi, as the “head office.”
Forged Government Documents and Fake IDs Used
The accused also created official-style paraphernalia, such as letterheads featuring the national emblem, rubber seals, identity cards, and visiting cards of senior government officials.
A June 10, 2017, forged letter reveals Union minister of state personnel Jitendra Singh informing all chief secretaries of states about the appointment of former chief justice of India RM Lodha as the president of their questionable organisation.
Fake Email ID Created to Build Trust
The accused also prepared a forged email ID “rmlodha.justice@gmaildotcom”, which they allegedly used to convince the targeted victims. CBI claimed that Google confirmed the fake email ID was linked to their IP address, and they provided one of their phone numbers as the recovery number.
Sales and Raju also purportedly created another letter dated 11th May, 2018. It stated that the then President of India Ram Nath Kovind congratulated Justice Lodha praising him for having accepted the job as “National President” of ACAC Wing of India.
As per CBI, the accused amassed money from naive victims by guaranteeing them to provide jobs in many zonal and state offices of their bogus organisation.
₹25 Lakh Collected in Bank Account Opened with Forged Papers
The accused used the names of the Union minister and the ex-President of India to make the targets believe that their organisation was genuine.
They employed this modus operandi to collect about ₹25 lakh, which they deposited into a current account at Indian Bank under the name of the ACAC Wing of India. The accused opened the Indian Bank account by using a false resolution of the organisation, the CBI claimed.
The two accused, Sales and Raju, had secured anticipatory bail from the Delhi High Court, and now the Special CBI court has summoned them, which has taken cognisance of the charges.
