Noida: Call centre promising jobs on ships busted, 5 arrested

Noida: The Noida Police on Saturday arrested five people, including a woman, for allegedly duping over 100 unemployed people on the pretext of providing them jobs on ships and cruises, officers said, adding that the gang operated from a rented office in Sector 62, Noida, for six months.

The arrested suspects have been identified as Ankit Singh,28, from Unnao; Ariba (single name), 22, from Amroha; Yavendra Singh,28, from Rampur; Durgesh Yadav, 30, from Sultanpur; and Badal, 21, from Ghaziabad.

According to Manish Mishra, additional deputy commissioner of police (Add. DCP), Noida, the fraud operations came to fore following a Jaipur resident’s complaint at the Sector 58 Police Station on Friday.

“The 25-year-old plaintiff filed a written complaint about being duped of ₹50,000 by a group of suspects running an office out of Ithum tower in Sector 62, Noida, on the pretext of getting a job on a cruise,” said the ADCP.

The complainant, requesting anonymity, complained that he learned about a vacancy via a social media advertisement and called up on the given number.

“I was connected to one Akash who said their office was in Noida and one Ankit Singh owned their firm,” he said in the complaint, adding that following an online interview on May 31 he was informed about his selection for the Mumbai to Goa-bound ship, and was asked to come to Noida for a medical test for which ₹11,000 were to be paid.

At the Noida office, one Badal showed him his employment documents.

“This Badal is part of the gang and had earlier worked on a ship and gone to Iran… He convinced the victims who visited the company’s Noida office, that the job opportunity was genuine,” said the ADCP.

After a few days, the complainant got a mail from the company asking him to pay additional ₹38,600, the complaint stated.

The suspects told the complainant that this amount will get him various documents to work on ship and help his visa processed along with flight ticket among others, said Amit Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Sector 58 Police Station.

“On July 4, the complainant sent the requested amount to the company’s bank account. Later, he received a forged offer letter and medical test document. But the complainant was not told about his joining date or location,” the SHO added.

On following up with the firm about his joining date, he was given various excuses.

“After over a month, the complainant reported the matter to police on September 20 in a comlaint, following which an investigation was launched and the gang was busted on Saturday,” said the ADCP.

Investigation revealed that the gang duped over 100 unemployed people from across India. Two bank accounts in the name of the company have been frozen by police and transactions will be investigated, said the officer.

The suspects have been booked under sections 318(4) [cheating], 338 [forgery], 336(3) [false document], 340(2) [forged document], 316(2) [criminal breach of trust] of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the IT Act.

Police confiscated a large quantity of electronic equipment including eight computer CPUs, a laptop, five mobiles, 11 stamp seals, two SIM cards, one Seafarers’ Identity Document card among others from the suspects’ possession.

“Two other accomplices, Akash (single name) and Akanksha Pandey, are absconding and efforts are on to nab them,” the SHO added.