Berhampur: Odisha Police arrested three persons from Andhra Pradesh Monday for allegedly deceiving around 20 job seekers from Ganjam district, swindling approximately Rs9.70 lakh by falsely promising them employment opportunities in Kenya.
The accused, identified as Ch Mohan Reddy (48), P Simanchalam (40) and T Dhilleswar Rao (35), were allegedly operating a fake recruitment agency in Andhra Pradesh, police said.
The suspects purportedly issued counterfeit job offer letters and tourist visas instead of employment visas to the victims after collecting money and original passports from them, Berhampur SP Saravan Vivek M said.
“A total of 92 passports, application forms, screenshots of financial transactions, and 20 tourist visas issued by the Kenyan government were seized from their possession,” authorities disclosed.
Following their arrests, police returned the passports and funds collected from the victims.
A job seeker from Khallikote area in Ganjam district filed an FIR at Goshaninuagaon police station February 5, alleging that Mohan Reddy had received Rs9.70 lakh from 20 candidates along with their passports.
According to the complainant, Reddy requested an advance of Rs25,000 from each candidate to provide them with original passports. After 10 days, he issued them offer letters from a company, followed by tourist visas after another 10 days.
Each of the 20 candidates allegedly paid Rs48,500 (totaling Rs9.70 lakh) through online transactions and cash at a hotel near the railway station, police said.
When they attempted to contact him for the air tickets to Kenya, Reddy did not respond. Subsequently, when the victims reached out to him through other phone numbers, he verbally abused them. This prompted the job seekers to realise they had been deceived, police added.
PTI