BERHAMPUR: Three persons who had defrauded 92 job seekers and made away with Rs 9.70 lakh from 20 of them on the pretext of giving them employment in Kenya were arrested by Gosaninuagaon police on Monday.
Berhampur police which received complaint from Prabhat Dalai, a job seeker, arrested the trio identified as Ch Mohan Reddy, P Simanchalam and T Dhilleswara Rao.
SP Sarvana Vivek M said the accused had collected 92 original passports from the candidates and sought Rs 25,000 in advance from each to provide them visa. However, after 10 days, they handed the job aspirants offer letters of a company called Intex and tourist visa to 20 candidates. The candidates then paid Rs 48,500 each to Reddy through UPI payment system and by cash in the presence of his two associates in a guesthouse at Station Road under Gosaninuagaon police station. When Dalai and others tried to contact Reddy over phone for air ticket to Kenya, he allegedly abused them in filthy language.
Based on Dalai’s complaint, a case was registered. During investigation, it was ascertained that Mohan, Simanchalam and Dhilleswara had cheated job aspirants by giving them false assurance of employment in different countries by arranging visa. They used to collect passports and relevant documents from the victims by visiting their localities and arranged tourist visa instead of employment visa which is needed for job seekers.
During a search, police seized 92 passports, applicant information, screenshots of financial transactions and 20 tourist visas issued by the Government of Republic of Kenya from their possession. The authenticity of the company which issued offer letters is under verification, police said.
The accused were booked under sections 420/294 of Indian Penal Code and produced before the court on Monday. Further investigation is on, said SI Krutibas Nayak.