The Karnataka Police have nabbed a 34-year-old former call centre employee on charges of cheating engineering graduates and job aspirants in the pretext of getting them a placement in a top software company in Bengaluru, the police said on Tuesday, January 25. The police have seized 40 fake appointment letters from the accused and are investigating the matter.

The accused has been identified as Sanjeev Gangaram Gurkha, a resident of Chinchanwad, Pune in Maharashtra. The accused gave advertisements on social media and other platforms announcing recruitment to a top software company based in the Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru. He has also opened eight bank accounts to receive money from gullible candidates, said the police.

When job aspirants contacted him, he conducted online interviews. The accused after announcing that they have got through the interview, would ask them to deposit money towards laptop and other equipment. He would tell the victims that they will have to work from home. He took Rs 1.5 lakh from each job aspirant, according to police.

The accused had sent appointment letters to as many as 40 such job aspirants. The preliminary investigation has confirmed the accused receiving money from four candidates. The police are contacting other candidates and say that the accused may have cheated hundreds of gullible job aspirants.

The cheating came to light when victims approached the company headquarters with fake appointment letters. The company HR manager subsequently filed a complaint with Sampigehalli police on January 13.

The investigation has revealed that the accused worked at the call centre unit at Pune run by the same tech firm. While on job he had collected a few letters from the HR department and created fake logos and letterheads to carry out fake racket.