Four people have been arrested by the Delhi Police for duping more than 360 unemployed youth from several states to the tune of over Rs 50 lakh. These people cheated the youths on the pretext of giving jobs under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Ayushman Bharat Yojna”.

Separate police raids resulted in the arrest of these men — the 30-year-old mastermind Gyan Prakash, 27-year-old Rishi Kant, 28-year-old Ram Narayan, and 22-year-old Praveen Kumar. All of them are residents of Haryana’s Faridabad and Gurugram.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said that the case was cracked within only six days, with the hard work of a team headed by SHO Vinod Narang and Sub-Inspector Amit Kumar. The post office which dispatched the job application envelopes gave a tip-off to the police.

From a room in Tigoan in Faridabad from where the syndicate was operating, police recovered fake appointment letters printed on Ayushman Bharat Yojna letterhead, fake stamps of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), SIM cards, forged documents of the Ministry and other government plans and schemes, bank account details and laptops used in the crime.

Victim lodges complaint

On April 30, Sunrender Kumar, a victim, lodged a complaint at Connaught Place police station about being duped by the recruitment syndicate. In his complaint, Kumar alleged that he is currently unemployed and preparing for government jobs. Seeing an advertisement in a national daily on April 14, regarding open recruitment under the ‘Ayushman Bharat Yojna’, he sent his resume to apply.

On April 25, an envelope reached him through Speed Post. He received a joining letter on the letterhead of Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojna (PM-JAY) from Connaught Place, with the same number that had appeared in the advertisement, printed on it.

The letter directed him to contact the same mobile number and get a bank account number. It also asked him to deposit Rs 12,500 amount as the security deposit.

Kumar then visited Jeeven Bharti building to inquire about the recruitment, where he learnt that the joining letter he received was fake.

“During interrogation, Gyan Prakash disclosed that he had started colour workshop in Narela in 2011 and also started transport business simultaneously, but later went bankrupt due to heavy losses. As huge debts piled up, he shared his problem with his friend who convinced him to earn huge money through an easy way of cheating unemployed youths on the pretext of jobs in the projects of the Government of India. He later introduced him to Rishi Kant and two others,” Verma said, as reported by NDTV.

Youths in remote areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Meerut, Haryana, Rajasthan, Mathura and Madhya Pradesh, among others were targeted by the scamsters. 

Job Scam Warning Signs

 It is important that we remain extremely careful before we accept job offers, let alone deposit money on the pretext of the said job. 

If a job offer is too good to be true, we might want to consider its authenticity. For example, if a company contacts us before we contact them, and offers the job right away or calls us for an interview immediately, these might be early warning signs. Unbelievable salary offer, with little to no efforts, is also to be careful about.

In certain cases, we must notice if the e-mails are unprofessional. Authentic companies do not usually make spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes. Further, vague job descriptions and extremely simple eligibility criteria may point at a possible scam.

Inauthentic companies often ask us to provide confidential information. Scammers may ask for our bank account information to transfer money to our account and set up direct deposit. They may also ask us to open a new bank account and provide them with the information.

Legitimate companies never ask for money. We must beware of a company that tells us that we need to purchase software or pay for services at the very onset.

The most obvious point is to use the internet to do extensive research on the company’s background. It is always better to rely on a formalized, face to face interaction with the recruiters, rather than a telephonic interview.

Scammers are usually crafty. They try to make job offers look absolutely authentic. It is important for us to be very careful while applying for a job, and in case of any confusion, we must consult with the official company at their address. 

Also Read: Guwahati: BJP MP’s Daughter Among 19 Arrested For Assam Civil Service Exam Scam