Four Kollam residents have filed police complaints alleging recruitment fraud stating they have been duped lakhs of rupees on the pretext of offering overseas jobs.
In a press meet here on Wednesday, they said around 20 job aspirants from various parts of Kerala had paid large sums of money to a Malappuram-based gang for jobs in the United Arab Emirates.
“We were cheated by one Sanjay Menon, his mother A.V Jalaja, his friend K. Shijith, and Abdul Razak. They should be brought before the law and action should be taken to get our money back,” said Sasthamcotta resident B.Ajayakumar. Other Kollam residents who had been duped by the gang included Poruvazhi resident Unnikrishna Pillai, Muthupilakkad resident J.S. Harilal, and Sooranadu North resident Anirudhan.
While Ajayakumar paid ₹1.25 lakh for the job of storekeeper with Etihad Airlines in Abu Dhabi, ₹1 lakh, ₹85,000, and ₹1.25 lakh had been collected from the others.
“All amounts were transferred to the accounts of the accused. After that Sanjay Menon told me that the visa has been arranged and I will soon get a call from the Ernakulam office of Etihad Airlines. When nobody from their office contacted I went to his home in Malappuram. There he assured me that the visa will arrive soon,” he said.
Later, he was contacted by Sanjay Menon who said his air ticket had been booked and his flight to Abu Dhabi was on December 17. “But then there was no visa and he hasn’t returned my money. I paid the amount in August 2021. Later, we came to know that the same gang had offered jobs and collected money from more than 20 people in Alappuzha, Chavakkad, Guruvayur, Thrissur, and Malappuram.”
The victims claimed the accused were trying to leave India and they had approached the Kottarakara SP and the Sasthamcotta DySP with the complaint.
