In a significant crackdown on job fraud, police arrested three men from Mumbai for allegedly running a fake recruitment drive for jobs in Israel, targeting unsuspecting youths in Odisha.
The accused were identified as Babulahari Gouda (42), Mahesh Ramchandra Lokhande (39), and Kiran Shashikant Ghumre (51). The trio was caught red-handed conducting unauthorised interviews at a hotel in Kharvel Nagar, Bhubaneswar, according to DCP Jagmohan Meena.
The arrests followed a complaint filed by Sunil Kumar Sah, Protector of Emigrants, under the Ministry of External Affairs, who reported the illegal activity. The accused were impersonating official recruiters and duping candidates with false promises of overseas employment.
“They were using forged documents resembling official notifications from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and promoting fake ads on social media,” said DCP Meena. “They charged Rs5,000 as registration and promised Rs70,000 would be collected after issuing fake offer letters.”
Police confirmed that none of the accused held authorization from the Ministry of External Affairs or any legitimate recruitment agency. Their arrest prevented further financial losses to hopeful job seekers.
Authorities believe the trio is part of a wider racket operating across India, targeting job aspirants through fake overseas job campaigns. Several resumes, forged offer letters, and four mobile phones were recovered during the raid. Investigations are underway to determine how many other such scams they may have operated.
