Navi Mumbai job fraud: 17 maritime aspirants duped of Rs 41 lakh, two arrested

The Navi Mumbai police have uncovered an alleged employment fraud racket and arrested two people accused of cheating 17 job aspirants of Rs 4175 lakh by promising them jobs on foreign merchant ships officials said on SundayAccording to the police a case has been registered against 12 accused in connection with the racket Investigators suspect that more people may have been cheated by the accused under the pretext of providing overseas employment opportunitiesThe matter came to light after the Financial Intelligence Unit of the police initially received a complaint involving six candidates who claimed they were cheated after being promised placements on foreign vesselsFake company used to lure candidates with overseas job offersDuring the investigation officials found that the accused were allegedly operating a fraudulent company from a mall in Nerul Navi MumbaiThe company falsely claimed to have a valid Recruitment and Placement Services License RPSL registered with the Director General of Shipping officials saidThe accused allegedly attracted job seekers by circulating advertisements through another firm promising highpaying maritime careers on foreign merchant shipsPolice said several candidates approached the company after seeing the advertisements and paid money to secure the promised jobsVictims paid Rs 4175 lakh but received no employmentAccording to officials the complainant and 16 other victims collectively paid Rs 4175 lakh to the accused However they were not provided jobs on any foreign vessel as promisedFollowing the investigation police arrested two key accused identified as Mohammad Gufran Bashir Qazi 27 a resident of Ulwe and Yogesh Nathaji Kale 35 a resident of NerulBoth accused have been taken into police custody as investigators continue to examine their role and identify others involved in the alleged racketCase registered against 12 accusedA case has been registered at Turbhe Police Station against 12 people under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to criminal breach of trust cheating forgery and criminal conspiracyPolice officials said further investigation is underway to determine the scale of the fraud and whether more candidates were targeted through similar job offersPolice appeal to other possible victimsAuthorities suspect that more job aspirants may have fallen victim to the alleged employment racketThe police have appealed to anyone who may have been cheated by the accused to contact the Financial Intelligence Unit Crime Branch CBD Belapur Navi Mumbai or reach out through the helpline number 7700920766Officials said complaints from additional victims will help investigators uncover the full extent of the alleged fraudWith inputs from PTI