Aspirants kidnap job scheme fraudster’s dad

CHENNAI: Incensed they were cheated after promising jobs, a couple of engineering graduates allegedly kidnapped the fraudster’s father, a 50-year-old man, from KK Nagar on Tuesday night, only to be nabbed by city police hours later.

The two BE graduates and four others who helped them in the crime, and the victim, Mohammed Rafiq, allegedly part of his son’s business, were arrested, while police suspect the involvement of four advocates also.

According to police, Mohammed Rafiq’s son, Imran, running a placement company at Valsaravakkam, collected `1.60 lakh each from graduates assuring them jobs abroad. However, after jobs did not materialise, a complaint reached the police and Imran went absconding over a month ago.

“Two of the cheated youth, G Prasanna(27) and K Aravind (24), received a tip off that Imran’s car was seen at his friend’s house at KK Nagar. They went there with a group to find Mohammed Rafiq there. They allegedly kidnapped him in his own car around 11 pm on Tuesday,” said a police official.

Alerted about the incident following a complaint by Rafiq’s friend, police searched the accused based on mobile tower location. The night patrol team, too, joined the hunt. In a few hours, Imran’s car in which his father was abducted was found near an advocate’s house at Valsaravakkam. Police soon found the accused and rescued Rafiq in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Prasanna, Aravind and four others were arrested. Following complaints from the graduates that Rafiq was also allegedly involved in the business, he was arrested. During inquiry, police found that Imran was facing several complaints of cheating, and the affected graduates had filed a complaint with the job racket wing of the Chennai Crime Branch in the last week of August.

After CCB team began probe, Imran closed his office and was stated to be absconding. Sources said they suspected the role of four advocates, but refused to divulge any further information.