A furtively operated job fraud in the name of the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) using fake official email addresses and instant messaging groups has duped over 500 youths from northern Kerala districts. Some of the victims, who approached the police, say that a majority of the applicants have lost between ₹50,000 and ₹3,00,000 in various phases in their attempts to secure a permanent government job.
The complainants in their petition said that fraudsters created fake email address of the RRB to communicate with job aspirants and win their trust. Besides, the name and designation of the chairman of the Southern Railways were misused to endorse fake communications.
“The trickery began with a work-from-home job opportunity in the field of data entry. Attractive payment was given to the ‘recruited’ persons in the first couple of months and it won the trust of the ‘employees’. There were fake WhatsApp groups in the name of the Railways to coordinate the work,” said one of the complainants.
Sources said many fell prey to the fraud because of the mouth-to-mouth publicity given by the ‘salaried employees’. Since the salary was paid through bank accounts, there were no element of suspicion on the part of anyone, they said.
Some complainants from the rural areas of Kozhikode district said there were many non-Kerala residents as well who fell prey to the fraud. The petitioners have named two persons from Mukkom and Thiruvambady areas who allegedly worked as agents for the kingpins of the fraud and pocketed huge commission.
Party worker suspended
The alleged link of some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers with the operators of the sham scheme has also come as a shocker for many. There were efforts on the part of the suspects to misuse the photographs of senior party leaders to win the trust of job aspirants. One of the local functionaries of the BJP in the district has been placed under suspension by the party leadership in connection with the case.
Cases registered
District Police Chief (Kozhikode Rural) A. Sreenivas on Thursday said a comprehensive investigation was under way into the fraud. Cases have been registered against two suspected recruiting agents from rural Kozhikode. “In the petition, the complainants have accused the two of accepting commission for permanent placement in the railways. The case will be investigated further by the Mukkom police,” he told The Hindu.
