Army officer remanded in 10-day police custody in recruitment scam
lieutenant colonel Dr Jagjeet Puri was arrested from Jodhpur for his alleged ties with an army recruitment racket busted last month.
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ADG, ATS Umesh Mishra briefing media persons about the army recruitment gang.
Jaipur: A lieutenant colonel of Indian army, identified as Dr Jagjeet Puri who was arrested by Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad (ATS) for his alleged ties with a gang that extorted money from army aspirants, was produced in a court in Jaipur that sent him to 10-police custody. ATS officials said that he would be interrogated to find out the possible involvement of others in the racket.
The ATS had earlier arrested four private persons and recovered Rs 1.79 crore cash from their possession. These people acted as middlemen for Puri who had been a member of medical boards constituted for army recruitment rallies in Rajasthan allegedly took money.
Puri, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was produced in the court in Jaipur a day after he was arrested from Jodhpur. ATS officials said that the agency informed the army headquarters before nabbing Puri.
“They were convinced because we had clinching evidence against Dr Puri and allowed us to proceed with our investigation,” said an ATS officer.
Sources said that during interrogation with people arrested last month, his ties with the army recruitment racket became obvious. The ATS is learnt to have probed some money transactions that implicated Dr Puri. Some documents seized from one of the gang members also nailed him.
The ATS would likely interrogate Dr Puri face-to-face with other gang members.
“We would want to know if any other people are involved in the racket,” said the officer.
Read Also: Rajasthan ATS arrests lieutenant colonel for being part of army recruitment gang
Dr Jagjeet Puri was currently deputed in the army recruitment office in Jodhpur. He has been a member of medical board constituted for army recruitment in many districts in the state including Jodhpur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Sawaimadhopur, Alwar and Jaipur.
Dr Puri was commissioned in the army in 2006 and was earlier posted in Delhi and Bareilly.
Puri’s name cropped up after the ATS busted a gang that guaranteed recruitment in the army and arrested four of its members on May 23.
The arrest has given credentials to reports that these gang members had contacts within the army and actually got aspirants recruited with the help of senior army officials.
Those who were arrested earlier include Arjun Singh, a resident of Nokha in Bikaner, Nand Singh Rathore, Sunil Vyas and Mahendra Singh. The trio belongs to Jaipur.
The ATS carried out a search at the house of Nand Singh Rathore a resident of Keshavpura in Jaipur’s Muralipura area. A total of Rs 1.79 crore was seized. The amount was in cash and had been collected from candidates paying him for jobs in the army.
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