CHENNAI : Complaints of conmen duping unemployed youths of money with bogus offers of lucrative overseas jobs are on the rise in the city.

Officials in the City Crime Branch (job racket wing) told The Hindu on Tuesday that 144 cases were under investigation and 81 accused remanded to custody pending trial. While many cases were received in the current year, a few petitions pertained to 2005.

Most of the complainants were illiterates from Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai and Virudhunagar districts. A senior officer attached to the CCB dealing with various cases said the method of operation adopted by the racketeers was simple.

The key person (or main agent in local parlance) would set up an office in a posh area in Chennai city. By renting out a bungalow or a space in a commercial area in a prime location, they lured innocents from other parts of the State by appointing agents who operated in districts. After gaining confidence of the unemployed youths in the respective localities, the agents brought them to Chennai, where the payment was made.

Depending on the "urgency" or "innocence" of the victims, the job racketeers would fix the fees. For instance, in a recent incident they took an amount ranging between Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 5,000 from youth in Pudukottai. The CCB police realised that the agent had taken money ranging between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 1 lakh for casual worker jobs in Malaysia and Kuwait.

A majority of the victims have only minimum qualifications. However, quite bafflingly for the police, a few engineering graduates too have fallen into the trap.

Recently, a girl, who completed her catering course, was offered a job in London by an employment agency, which had its office in a prime location. After taking her original certificates, passport and money, the candidate was promised employment. Inquiries revealed that she approached the agent after some of her friends gave a good reference about the person. But only later she realised that she was duped. When the police began a probe based on her complaint, the agent hastily returned the money.

Original certificates

In most cases, the police said agents took away all original certificates and other documents from the candidates. When trouble arose between the two parties, the agents demanded huge sums to return the papers.

Two months ago, an M.Phil degree holder, currently working as a lecturer in a private college in Srivilliputtur, was promised an overseas job, but failed to get it. Unable to get back his documents, he lodged a police complaint. He got back the documents only when the police raided the office of the accused.

The Chennai city police are planning to display photographs of persons, who had duped innocent youths, in prominent public places and screen them in cinema houses.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail