PARADIP: TWO persons were arrested from Jagatsinghpur district on Friday by Andhra Pradesh police for allegedly duping 50 youths of the neighbouring State of over Rs 7 crore by promising them employment in Paradip Refinery Project of the IOCL. The accused are Sarada Prasanna Barik, hailing from Badapadia under Paradip police limits, and Mukesh Samal of Rangiagada under Abhyachandpur police limits.
According to reports, eight persons, including the two from Jagatsinghpur district, had opened a fake job agency in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Barik, who impersonated as an employee of IOCL, was the mastermind behind the fake job racket. They lured 50 unemployed youths of Andhra Pradesh by promising them jobs in Paradip Refinery and collected Rs 15 lakh from each of them.
The fraud came to light when there was an inordinate delay in providing the promised jobs. Last month, three youths filed cases at Bhimavarm police station II of West Godavari district. They alleged that Barik and Samal had conducted interviews in the agency office and collected biodata, educational certificates besides cash of Rs 15 lakh from each of them. The two subsequently fled Andhra Pradesh with the money and none of the candidates received any calls from them.
SDPO in charge of Paradip police station, Kishore Kumar Dangyat, said Barik is the main accused in the fraud and involvement of many others from Odisha in the racket is suspected. Barik was earlier employed with a private bank.
A similar case had occurred in 2014 when S Debasish from Chandikhol and Akash Dey from Bhubaneswar were nabbed by Paradip police for opening fake job agencies at Dochaki and Udayabat in Paradip town and collecting Rs 15 lakh from youths by promising them jobs in different companies in the district, including IOCL. They lured the unemployed youths, not only of Jagatsinghpur but the neighbouring districts as well, by promising them jobs in Essar Steel project, Paradip Phosphates Limited, Paradip Refinery project of IOCL and other industries in Paradip.
