Mumbai man who duped job seeker of Rs45,000, arrested after evading police for two years

Mumbai police said the accused sent the job seeker a fake visa and ticket

The Mumbai crime branch’s property cell officials on Monday arrested a man who allegedly duped a job seeker of Rs45,000 two years ago and had been evading the police since.

Over the past two years, the accused evaded the police by changing his office address and mobile number.(HT File Photo)

Police said the accused, Prempal B Chauhan, is a recruitment agent. In 2016, he offered Mohammed Adarsh Mohammed Firoz Ansari, 28, a job abroad and asked him to pay the sum. On receiving the money, he sent Ansari a visa and a ticket, which were later found to be fake.

Ansari logged on the foreign ministry’s official website to find out whether Chauhan’s agency — Spark Marin Consultants — was listed on it. On discovering that Chauhan had been running the recruitment agency illegally, Anasari filed a complaint with the ministry.

In August 2016 a foreign ministry official approached the Matunga police, who registered a case against Chauhan.

“Over the past two years, Chauhan evaded the police by changing his office address and mobile number,” said an officer from the property cell.

On Monday, officials received a tip-off that Chauhan had set up a recruitment office at Mazgaon and had been cheating other job seekers. Acting on the information, police laid a trap at Dr DN Singh Road in Tulsiwadi and nabbed him.

“The accused confessed to the crime and said he was also wanted in a cheating case registered at the Shivaji Nagar police station,” said an officer.

The crime branch has handed over Chauhan to the Matunga police, who are investigating the case.