KOCHI: The couple, who was arrested in Kochi on Saturday over job fraud charges, used fake air tickets and working visas to gain the trust of job-seekers, the police have said. Chinju S Raj, 45, of East Kallada in Kollam, who is the first accused, and her husband Aneesh, 45, of Kodungallur, were arrested while trying to flee the country.
As per the police, Chinju used her experience of working in a recruitment firm in New Delhi to commit the fraud. She and Aneesh ran a recruiting agency, Talentivis HR Consultancy, at Ashoka Road in Kaloor. As per the police, the duo collected Rs 1.9 crore from 56 people promising them jobs in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The police are checking whether the duo committed similar fraud earlier.
Chinju claimed she had an office in New Delhi and that her father was associated with the CBI. However, the police found the claims to be false. During preliminary interrogation, Chinju confessed to receiving flight tickets and work permits from a firm in Singapore. She said she did not know more about the company.
“The police will move court seeking the duo’s custody for further investigation as the woman’s statements are contradictory,” said Ernakulam Town North Inspector Prathap Chandran. As per the police, the accused lured candidates by advertising job opportunities in countries such as the UK, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia on digital marketing sites.
Interestingly, the couple didn’t collect the Rs 1.9 crore directly from job seekers. Instead, an agent Binil Kumar, a native of Perumbavoor, collected the money from candidates, who responded after seeing the advertisements, on behalf of the accused. ‘The money was collected during April and May. When they did not get a visa after six months, the candidates started demanding money from the agent. He complained, following which an investigation was launched,” Prathap said.
As per the complainants, the duo used to repeatedly tell them that they would get the visas soon. However, when nothing happened for months, the candidates started demanding their money back. The accused sent fake Singapore visas to 30 candidates via WhatsApp. They also sent fake flight tickets. However, when the candidates checked the validity of the tickets, they realised those had been cancelled. When questioned, the duo tried to make the candidates believe that they were given dummy tickets and that they will be able to travel if they reached the airport on the said date, said the complainants.
When they realised that the candidates would involve the police, Chinju and Aneesh switched off their phones, locked the office and their house near Elamakkara, and tried to flee. The police found the duo’s belongings packed in their house. They also recovered several documents, including passports of many candidates and different types of seals, from the house.
“Their firm was in one of the several offices in the building, but they operated the fraud from their home which falls under the Elamakkara police limits. The case will be transferred to the Elamakara police,” Prathap said. The accused are currently in judicial custody.