Students duped of ₹12 lakh on pretext of merchant navy job

Noida: As many as four youths were allegedly duped of ₹12 lakh by a Noida-based firm on the pretext of providing them merchant navy jobs.

Noida: As many as four youths were allegedly duped of ₹12 lakh by a Noida-based firm on the pretext of providing them merchant navy jobs.

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A complaint was filed at Sector 20 police station by 21-year-old Rishikesh Kumar Jaiswal, a native of Bihar and a graduate in nautical science.

“I had uploaded my resume on an online job portal last year and was contacted by a Noida-based company in August. I checked the company’s profile and it seemed genuine. Then three of my friends also applied with them. We even met their executives in October in Noida after which they took our documents and ₹12 lakh, and assured us that we will get our joining within two weeks,” said Jaiswal.

He said that the placement company finally contacted them in January this year. “The company officials asked us to go to Mumbai after which they stopped responding to our calls and messages. We then went to their office in Noida Sector 10, and after a lot of pressure and with help of the local police, they gave us two cheques each which bounced. Then the lockdown happened and they kept giving us fake assurances,” said the complainant, adding that the company officials then said that the joining will happen before Diwali.

But when nothing was finalized, the victims came to the Noida office which by then had been abandoned, the police said, adding that the youths later found out that other students across the country had been duped in a similar manner by the suspects.

Jaiswal’s three friends are natives of Tamil Nadu, the police said.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered against the company under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

“A probe in the matter is underway. We have a few leads and are questioning some people to find more information about the people behind the scam. We will nab them soon,” said Rakesh Kumar Singh, station house officer, Sector 20 police station.