Karnataka - Mysore   

Job racket busted; one arrested

. — PHOTO: M.A.SRIRAM

Probe: Police Commissioner S. Parashivamurthy with Suresh (right), accused in the job racket, in Mysore on Monday

MYSORE: The Mysore Police have busted an inter-State job racket with the arrest of Suresh J. alias Hyavu Jones, a BBA graduate from Kerala.

He had allegedly duped over 200 unemployed youths, including those from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, on the pretext of providing them jobs in Canada and Australia.

He was arrested at Palanigowndanapuduru, near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, and brought to Mysore, based on a complaint by Manjunath who is one among those allegedly cheated by the accused.

According to preliminary investigations, the accused has cheated people to the tune of Rs. 30 lakh.

The accused was running a recruitment agency called “Bakhya HR Systems” at Lokanayakanagara that comes under the jurisdiction of Metagalli Police. The complaint was registered by them.

During investigations, it came to light that Suresh, who had advertised in local newspapers and the electronic media about jobs in Canada and Australia, had fled the city with his family after people came to know they had been taken for a ride.

On getting information that he is in Coimbatore, a police team led by Metagalli Inspector Mahadevappa arrested the accused in Palanigowndanapuduru village and brought him to Mysore.

As many as 200 passports; fake identity cards including that of the Central Bureau of Investigation; fake driving licences; credit cards; documents; and a car have been seized.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Police Commissioner S. Parashivamurthy said the accused had circulated pamphlets in Mysore as well as other cities announcing jobs in Canada and Australia with a monthly salary of Rs. 1.25 lakh.

He had asked those seeking jobs to submit their passports, passport-size photographs and medical fitness certificates (for those aged between 18 and 45) at his office on Hebbal Main Road in Metagalli.

Mr. Parashivamurthy said that many had made an initial payment of Rs. 5,000, as told by the accused, after submitting the documents.

“The accused told the job-seekers that he would get them visa in 45 days and asked them to deposit Rs. 1 lakh each in his accounts at ICICI Bank and Axis Bank,” the Commissioner said.

Many people from across the State deposited money in his bank accounts.

Unable to withstand pressure from people seeking placement, the accused locked his office and hatched a plan to withdraw money from the bank. But the police were alerted before the accused could withdraw money.

Without informing his landlord at N.R. Mohalla, the accused fled the city with his wife to Coimbatore.

The police found Rs 10.89 lakh in the Axis Bank account and Rs. 80,000 in the ICICI Bank account of the accused. The accounts hde been frozen and the banks asked to give details of the depositors, they said.

Mr. Parashivamurthy said the accused had not drawn money from the two accounts.

“We are looking into his activities in other States,” he said. “The passports seized from the accused will be returned to the people concerned. We shall intimate the candidates on the addresses given in the passports,” he said. The Police Commissioner congratulated the Metagalli police personnel for busting the racket.

Deputy Commissioners of Police V.S. D’Souza and Jawaharlal, and Assistant Commissioner of Police A.K. Suresh were present.

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