In an employment scam involving over `2 crore, a software company has duped hundreds of BTech and MCA graduates by offering employment, while their facility was shut down in the city after ‘Holi’ celebrations.
A group of the affected techies submitted petitions to the City Police Commissioner S George seeking to retrieve the money paid as guarantee for their employment, but they could not meet him since he was busy with the election meetings.
The Jaipur-based Epta Technology Pvt Ltd had employed similar tactics and cheated techies in Indore, Pune, Jaipur and Lucknow besides Chennai.
“I got an email from a popular job portal about the employment offer at Epta. I appeared for the test and personal interview. I was given an offer for the post of software developer-cum-trainee,” said Kumar Shanu, a final year student of engineering.
The firm’s directors - Satya Prakash, Nikil Raj and Manvi Singh - took about `20,000 towards deposit and inducted the students and graduates at an annual packages varying from ` 1.50 lakh to ` 2.40 lakh.
“To make the students and graduates students believe, the firm had opened up a huge office at Saidapet. We have also lodged a complaint at the local police station. The aspirants executed a bond with the company to work for `4,500 as stipend for first three months and assured induction into the company post-assessment. The directors vanished and the office was shut” said Monic, a B Tech final year student.
Management informed the employees that they can report to work after ‘Holi’ on Thursday, but the office remained shut and the employees were orally informed that they can report to work when called for and the holidays were being extended.
The cash was collected by human resource head, Sujata Singh. The employees faulted her for not stating anything about returning the deposit.
When contacted, she said that she herself had lodged a complaint at Saidapet police station. “I am also an employee. Even my original certificates are with the company”, she said. The management told her that Satya Prakash has taken ill and to postpone the schedule for the work assigned to the selected job aspirants till March 26.