THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Police have arrested five people for cheating several job seekers by offering fake appointments in ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thumba. The accused promised jobs and collected over Rs 2.5 crore from several people.
The arrested are Ramsi, 30, from Koliyakkode, Ajmal, 29, from Oachira, Murugeshan, 59, from Tirunelveli, and Vishnuraj, 33, and Suresh Babu, 50, both from Attingal. The scam began in March 2024 when a woman named Anjali, a degree holder, was introduced to Ramsi, the wife of second accused Ajmal, through a family friend.
Ramsi claimed to be a mechanical engineer at VSSC and promised Anjali a job as an administrative officer at VSSC. The fraudsters demanded Rs 9 lakh for the post and Anjali paid Rs 8 lakh. She first paid Rs 2 lakh and later sent the remaining amount to Ramsi’s bank account in multiple transactions.
To make the offer seem real, someone claiming to be a senior ISRO scientist named Suresh Mathew called Anjali using the number of Vishnuraj, the fourth accused. He asked her to undergo a medical test and submit a report. In February 2025, the first two accused visited Anjali’s house and gave her what they said was an appointment letter.
They told her not to open it until she received a call from the so-called scientist. When the call never came, Anjali opened the letter in April. It was dated April 9 and claimed she had been selected to join VSSC. Ramsi then asked her to wait a few more days before joining. But in July, Anjali saw a news report about a similar job scam in Tamil Nadu involving Ramsi and Murugeshan. That’s when she realised she too had been cheated.
Police say Murugeshan collected money from 27 people in Tamil Nadu and transferred most of it to Ramsi. During the investigation, officers recovered fake appointment letters, forged VSSC and ISRO seals, laptops, multiple SIM cards, mobile phones and other documents.
It was found that Vishnuraj and Suresh helped prepare fake seals and ID cards. Suresh also ran a seal-making unit called ‘Well Dot’ near Attingal Boys High School, which produced forged ISRO materials. Bank records showed that over Rs 1.5 crore was deposited in Ajmal’s account.