B’luru: Man from Pune arrested for duping tech job aspirants

Bengaluru: A 34-year-old man was arrested from Pune for duping engineering graduates and tech job aspirants on the promise of getting them jobs in top software companies in Bengaluru.

The accused has been identified as Sanjeev Gangaram Gurkha, a resident of Chinchwad, Pune in Maharashtra. He had previously worked at a call center and was arrested from Pune. About 40 fake appointment letters were confiscated from the accused, police said on Tuesday.

The accused gave advertisements on social media and other platforms announcing recruitment to a top software company based in the Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru. He has also opened eight bank accounts to receive money from gullible candidates, said the police.

When job aspirants contacted him, he conducted online interviews. The accused, after announcing that they have gotten through the interview, would ask them to deposit money towards the laptop and other equipment. He would tell the victims that they will have to work from home. He took Rs. 1.5 lakh from each job aspirant, according to police.

The accused had sent appointment letters to as many as 40 such job aspirants. The preliminary investigation has confirmed the accused receiving money from four candidates. The police are contacting other candidates and say that the accused may have cheated hundreds of gullible job aspirants.

The cheating came to light when victims approached the company headquarters with fake appointment letters. The company HR Manager subsequently filed a complaint with Sampigehalli police on January 13.

The investigation has revealed that the accused worked at the call center unit at Pune run by the same tech firm. While on the job he had collected a few letters from the HR department and created fake logos and letterheads to carry out a fake racket.

(With inputs from IANS)