KENDRAPARA: Police busted a fake job racket and arrested five persons including four Keralites on Sunday. The arrested were identified as Vincent Sahaji, PS Silvaraj, K Anup and C Anuj of Kerala and Sk Hafijul of Aul block. They were conducting fake interviews for recruitment to jobs in Doha-based Radiant Engineering Enterprises. Police also seized three laptops, a printer and other documents from them.
Sources said around 2,000 job aspirants had gathered at Singiri village in Aul to give interviews for jobs of plumbers, electricians, binders and welders on the day. Finding the behaviour of the accused persons suspicious during interviews, some of the job seekers alerted police following which cops and the district labour officer rushed to the spot.
All the five persons were arrested under Sections 420, 419 and 34 of the IPC. Since around 2,000 youths had gathered at Singiri for interview in violation of Covid-19 guidelines, the arrested persons were also booked under the provisions of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, said Aul IIC Salila Pradhan.
Pradhan further said during investigation, police came to know that the accused persons had started a consultancy at Singiri to cheat youths by offering them jobs in a Doha-based company. They had collected `1,000 from each aspirant for interview and also told each of them to pay `50,000 after their selection.
“We suspect involvement of other persons in the racket. Investigation is on and the other accused will be nabbed soon. The five accused were produced in court and remanded to judicial custody,” the IIC added.
Local trade union leader Jagajiban Das the lockdown due to Covid-19 has left a large number of people in the informal sector without jobs and any means of sustenance. Taking advantage of the situation, racketeers have become active in the district to dupe aspirants on the pretext of providing them work.
Kendrapara Collector Samarth Verma said, “I have directed the district labour officer to submit a detailed report about the incident. The district administration will take strong action against the fake job racketeers.”