Officials said that after realising that he was not getting the job, the complainant pursued the persons claiming to be representatives of placement consultancy to refund his money. (Representational)An Information Technology (IT) professional in Pune was cheated of Rs 18 lakh by fraudsters who promised him an interview and placement with a higher salary at a US-headquartered multinational computer technology major.
A First Information Report (FIR) in the case was registered at the Hinjewadi police station by the 37-year-old IT professional Saturday. The police have filed a case under charges of criminal breach of trust and cheating against at least three suspects who posed as representatives of a placement consultancy and also as an interviewer from the India office of the US company.
In November last year, when the complainant was looking for jobs, he received a call from a man who posed as the representative of a placement consultancy saying that his profile was being sent for an interview with the India office of the US company. According to the FIR, between November 23, 2021, and February 21 this year, huge sums of money totalling Rs 18.64 lakh were taken from the complainant on false pretexts like job selection charges, second interview processing fees, and job release charges through multiple transactions.
Officials said after realising he was not getting the job, the complainant pursued those claiming to be representatives of placement consultancy to refund his money. While some people did promise to return the money, he never got it back. The complainant recently approached the police as he realised he had been cheated and after primary verification of the case, an FIR was registered at the Hinjewadi police station on Saturday.
Assistant Inspector Ganesh Kharge from the Hinjewadi police station said a probe has been launched into the phone numbers used by the suspects and also other details of the financial transactions.