In a significant development in Balasore, the town police arrested a fraudster on Monday who had been cheating job seekers under the guise of offering employment. The accused, Sashikant Das, a resident of Kendrapada district, operated a diploma training center near ITI Square in Balasore. He allegedly promised students lucrative government jobs in exchange for large sums of money.
Das’s fraudulent activities came to light after several job seekers failed to secure the promised positions, despite having paid substantial amounts. Victims grew suspicious when Das stopped responding to their calls and shut down his office without notice. As a result, a group of affected individuals managed to catch him while he was attempting to flee the area and handed him over to the police.
One victim, an engineering diploma holder, revealed that Das had promised him a government job within a month, with the assurance that his money would be refunded if the promise wasn’t fulfilled. He paid Rs 2 lakh in cash for the job, but after failing to receive any job offer, he attempted to get his money back, only to be met with evasive tactics from Das.
Another victim, who had been promised a job at the RTO office, paid Rs 2.5 lakh via PhonePe after being shown a fake appointment letter. However, like others, he was left without the job and unable to recover his money. This led to the group tracking down Das and calling the police to take action.
Sashikant Das, along with his wife who reportedly assisted him in running the fraudulent operation, is currently under police custody for further interrogation. The police are investigating whether more victims exist and are working to recover the money from the scam.
