Nagpur: The Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of Nagpur Police has made another key arrest in the sensational Mantralaya fake job racket, which duped scores of government job aspirants by conducting sham interviews inside the state secretariat in Mumbai. Investigators now believe the total fraud could balloon to ₹20–30 crore as more victims step forward.

EoW officials on Monday confirmed the arrest of Vijay Patankar, a resident of Wathoda, marking the second major breakthrough in the case. Earlier, the prime accused Lawrence Henry (45) of Mhalgi Nagar was arrested in Mumbai. Six others, including Shilpa Udapure (40), Vasantkumar alias Vasantrao Udapure (60), Nitin Sathe (41), Sachin Dolas (45), and a peon identified as Babar (55), remain absconding.

The case came to light when complainant Rahul Tayde of Sugat Nagar alleged that in 2019 the gang extracted ₹9.55 lakh from him under the pretext of securing a junior clerk’s post in Mantralaya. To lend authenticity, the accused arranged a medical test at JJ Hospital and even staged a fake interview in a bogus cabin bearing a government nameplate. Tayde was later given a forged Mantralaya identity card for temporary access to the premises.

During interrogation, police learned the gang may have targeted dozens of aspirants across Maharashtra, collecting amounts far beyond the initial estimate of ₹1.5 crore. “We expect the fraud figure to rise sharply as more victims come forward,” an EoW officer said, adding that multiple complaints are now being filed.