Man held for duping people with fake merchant navy jobs

After establishing contact with jobseekers, the suspect would offer them placements in the Merchant Navy, charging ₹1.80 lakh — ₹1.30 lakh as agent fees and ₹50,000 as his personal charge, police said.

A 24-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly duping two unemployed Kerala-based men of ₹2.64 lakh on the pretext of placing them in the Merchant Navy, police said.

The suspect is an MBA graduate, and claims to have worked in the Merchant Navy, said police. (Archives)

A preliminary probe found that the suspect is an MBA graduate, and claims to have worked in the Merchant Navy. He had been in contact with over 50 unemployed people, officers said.

“On Sunday, we arrested Gali Prem Kumar Sandeep, 24, originally from Visakhapatnam, residing in Ghaziabad, for duping unemployed people. His arrest, from Sector 59 with the help of electronic surveillance, followed a complaint by two men from Kerala at the Sector 58 police station,” said Noida’s additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Sumit Shukla.

“Investigation revealed that the suspect had registered two fake companies in Andhra Pradesh, claiming to offer placements in the Merchant Navy. He also published fake job advertisements and used to get data from a Telegram group dedicated to Merchant Navy aspirants,” the ADCP added.

After establishing contact with jobseekers, the suspect would offer them placements in the Merchant Navy, charging ₹1.80 lakh — ₹1.30 lakh as agent fees and ₹50,000 as his personal charge, police said.

“When job aspirants expressed interest to join Merchant Navy, he would book a conference hall in a Noida mall, presenting it as his office, to collect their documents to proceed further. Afterward, he provided fake appointment letters and flight tickets via WhatsApp and instructed them to meet him at the IGI Airport to pay fees and collect air tickets,” said Sector 58 Station House Officer Amit Kumar.

A few days ago, when Abhinav V.S. and his friend from Kerala were left stranded at the airport after paying ₹2.64 lakh to the suspect, they approached the Sector 58 police and a team was form to nab suspects.

A review of the suspect’s email account revealed that he had been running the racket for the last two years. “One of his accomplices, responsible for luring job aspirants, is currently on the run. A case on charges of forgery, criminal intimidation, and falsifying electronic documents under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered. Efforts are underway to scan his previous criminal records,” the SHO added.