E-Paper
Job scam: Efforts on to derail investigations
INVESTIGATIONS in a major job scam worth crores of rupees in which more than 300 young men were lured for high profile job in merchant navy and which has the suspected involvement of some senior police officers, doctors and white collared men are not only going slow but all-out efforts are being made by a strong lobby favouring the four prime accused to derail the inquiry thereby paving the way for their freedom.
INVESTIGATIONS in a major job scam worth crores of rupees in which more than 300 young men were lured for high profile job in merchant navy and which has the suspected involvement of some senior police officers, doctors and white collared men are not only going slow but all-out efforts are being made by a strong lobby favouring the four prime accused to derail the inquiry thereby paving the way for their freedom.
Such favours were being showered on the accused despite the fact that even the High Court has refused bail to one of the arrested accused Ajai Pathak on the ground of the sensitiveness of the case.
Worse, what to say about initiating attachment of property proceedings in such a serious case, cops have not even cared to make efforts for the arrest of the two women and a man who could not be nabbed at the time of the arrest of Ajai Pathak. Even their account in the ICICI Bank Civil Lines and Union Bank of India, Allahpur have not been seized even though dozens of FIRs have been lodged in this case by several young men since November 3, 2005--the day the scam came to light. These young job seekers mostly hailing from Purvanchal, Delhi and other States had paid sums ranging from Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 3 lakh for a job which promised them to send on board the merchant navy ships. Nurturing dreams of a bright future and a job which would make them wealthy some of the job seekers even took loans or sold off family assets.
When asked DIG Akhilesh Mehrotra expressed surprise over the move to hand over the investigation to the SIS which over the years has gained the dubious distinction of becoming famous for dumping of such big cases into the cold storage thereby rendering the entire exercise redundant.
Police sources, on condition of anonymity, said as of now a hunt was on to find out such a sub-inspector who in the first place either promises to scuttle the investigations and finally dump it or atleast manipulates the investigation in such a way which exonerates the two good looking and smart wives of the accused brothers Ajai Pathak and Sanjay Pathak.
Sources said the four accused had been leading a lavish life in two flats in Kanti Apartment, Baghambari Gaddi, Patel Crossing Allahpur since past over four years.
With their high contacts they started spreading message through word of mouth to job seekers that one of them Sanjay Pathak, Captain in the merchant navy was running an academy named 'Tanshu Institute of Maritime Studies' situated in Pura Fateh Mohammad, Mirzapur Road, Naini which would prepare cadets for the merchant navy and later after their training they will get job in the merchant navy.
After completing their training when aspirants did not get job even after a long wait they started getting restless. Eventually, they gheraoed the residence of the Pathaks for the return of their money on November 3, 2005. The then SSP, SK Gupta, who rushed to the spot realised that the students were rightly agitated and ordered lodging of the FIR against the four accused. This was followed by dozens of FIRs lodged by the victims.
