Berhampur: The Goasinuagaon police in Odisha’s Berhampur district arrested three persons were arrested for allegedly duping job aspirants of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of employment in Kenya. The police also seized 92 passports, applicant’s information, screenshots of financial transactions, and 20 tourist visas issued by The Republic of Kenya.
The arrested accused have been identified as Chinapani Mohan Reddy (48), a resident of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Potanapalli Simanchalam (40), a resident of Srikakulam, in Andhra Pradesh, and Tadela Dhilleswara Rao (35), a native of Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh.
According to police, one Prabhat Dalai (35) filed a complaint at the Gosaninuagaon police station on February 5, 2024, alleging that one Chandra Mohan Reddy of Kutharisingh village under Golanthara police limits took cash to the tune of Rs 9,70,000 from 20 candidates and 92 original passports from 92 candidates promising them to provide jobs in Kenya. He demanded Rs 25,000 as advance from each candidate to provide them with original passports. After 10 days he gave them offer letters of Intex Company and after another 10 days provided tourist visas to 20 candidates.
After receiving Rs 9,70,000 from 20 candidates through UPI payment and by cash he did not respond to them. When the job aspirants tried to contact him over the telephone for an air ticket to Kenya, he did not respond. When the victims contacted him through other mobile numbers he abused them in filthy languages, the complaint read. Hence, Dalai reported the matter at the police station seeking legal action against Chandra Mohan Reddy.
Based on Dalai’s complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 420/294 IPC.
During the investigation, it was ascertained that the accused persons cheated the public by giving them false assurances to provide them jobs in different countries by arranging visas after taking money and passports from them. They used to collect the passports and relevant documents from the victims by visiting their locality and arranging tourist visas instead of employment visas with the help of their associates. The authenticity of the company, which issued offer letters, is under verification, the police said.