'Forged letters, ₹5,000 per patient': Gardener turns scamster misusing Delhi CM's name, arrested

ANurseryman employed on undertake with the Municipal corp of new delhi (MCD) has been arrested after he was monetary fund duping poor medical patients by using forged copies of the letterhead of the Delhi Chief Minister's Office, police said on Sunday.The arrested man, Sonu, 27, a resident of Tagore Garden, was arrested on October 30 following a complaint from the CMO, police said.The scheme of forgery was busted when officials from Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Delhi sent an email to the CMO seeking confirmation of a letter they had received recommending free treatment for a patient, Shyam Shankar, under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category. The hospital had even got a call from a man “identifying himself as Balbir Singh Rathee from the CM Office”, who directed them to proceed with the treatment."The letter bore the forged signature of the top officials of the CM office. The hospital authorities grew suspicious as the letter contained spelling mistakes, inconsistent fonts, and improper alignment," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia said, as per news agency PTI. But the hospital was not convinced, hence contacted the CM's office for verification.How the gardener became a scamsterSince the CM's office was never involved in this, an Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, SC Vashishtha, lodged a complaint at the Civil Lines police station.When the police questioned the patient, Shyam Shankar, he said his wife, Anju, had obtained the letter from a person named Sonu.The team traced the mobile numbers used by the caller to the Karol Bagh area, where Sonu was found to be employed as a contractual mali (gardener) in the MCD office. When the team conducted a raid on October 29, he managed to flee, leaving behind his bag and motorcycle.The team tracked him to Tagore Garden and apprehended him the next day. His mobile phone, which contained records of impersonation calls and additional active numbers, was seized.A letterhead ‘found’, and a ‘scheme’ of ₹5,000 each "During interrogation, Sonu revealed that he had found an original CM Office letter in the MCD's dak section a few months ago and decided to use it to create forged copies to earn money," said the DCP.He used to target patients outside private hospitals who were unable to afford treatment. He would promise them free admission under the EWS category through the CM Office for ₹5,000 per case.He also used a motorcycle with a fake registration plate to avoid being traced, police said.Items recovered from his possession include several forged letters, an original letterhead, a fake MCD identity card, a fake Haryana government ID card, and the motorcycle with tampered number plates, police added.Sonu, originally from Badli in Jhajjar, Haryana, had dropped out of school after his father's death in 1999. Before moving to Delhi in 2023, he had worked as a chowkidar and gardener in Bahadurgarh for five years.He lives with his wife and son in a rented accommodation in Tagore Garden, police said. Further investigation is underway to identify others, if any.