Rs 1 Cr Fake Job Racket Busted In Odisha’s Balasore, 2 Women Among 5 Arrested

Balasore: Police have busted Rs 1 crore fake job jacket with the arrest five persons, including two women, in Odisha’s Balasore district. They allegedly duped over 150 youths with the promise of jobs in government and private sectors.

Four of the accused have been identified as Debabrata Mallick, Samita Panda, Sambit Kumar Panda and Sushil Kumar Mohanty.

Addressing a presser, Balasore SP Sagarika Nath said Rs 3.09 lakh in cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 10.5 lakh, along with applications and forged appointment letters, have been seized from their possession. The mastermind of the racket, identified as Sanjib Panda of Balasore, is absconding, she added.

The SP further said that the mastermind of the gang used to contact job aspirants through his associates for posts of project assistants, district coordinators in various departments, panchayat executive officers, and jobs in Tata Steel, railways and the forest department. “They used to collect Rs 80,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh from each youth. Fake interviews were conducted at different places in Bhubaneswar and then they were given fake appointment letters,” she said.

Police have also identified 10 bank accounts with deposits amounting to Rs 28 lakh, belonging to the fraudsters and those have been freezed. Properties worth Rs 80 lakh in Balasore and Bhubaneswar have also been seized, the SP added.

The fraud came to the fore after a youth of Balasore town filed a complaint at Sahadevkhunta police station this month.