Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 22 Aug: Nehru Colony police in Dehradun have arrested Charu Chandra Joshi from Pithoragarh for allegedly duping a nursing staff member of Rs 32 lakhs by promising marriage and a government job in the health department. The accused, who had earlier worked as a contractual pharmacist for six years, used his past departmental association to mislead job seekers. The Police investigations have also revealed that Joshi has more than half a dozen cases registered against him in Dehradun, Haldwani, Nainital and Kashipur for fraud and other criminal offences and that he has also served jail terms in the past.
In the latest case, a complaint was lodged on 17 August by the victim, a nurse at a private hospital in Dehradun. As per her complaint, she had met Joshi through a matrimonial website. He introduced himself as a drug inspector with strong official connections and had assured her of marriage and also had promised to secure her a job in the health department. Over time, he extracted Rs 32 lakhs from her under the pretext of finalising the appointment. When no job materialised, she realised she had been cheated and approached the police.
Police surveillance traced Joshi’s movements and found that he was frequently changing locations to evade arrest and was attempting to flee to Nepal via Pithoragarh. Acting on this information, Nehru Colony police coordinated with Pithoragarh police and got him arrested him from the Ancholi area. He was later produced before the local court and taken on transit remand to Dehradun.
According to the Police, the investigations have confirmed that Joshi had been appointed as a contractual pharmacist in 2016 but was dismissed in 2022 after cases of fraud and sexual assault were registered against him in Nainital, leading to his imprisonment. After his release on bail, he exploited his former departmental identity and posed as a serving official and also claimed close ties with senior officers to lure unsuspecting youths with false promises of government jobs. The Police however have also clarified that no evidence has been found linking him to any examination agency or recruitment process, and asserted that his fraud was purely personal. During interrogation, Joshi admitted that much of the money taken from the complainant was used to settle earlier cases against him. Police are now verifying these claims with documentary and other evidence.
