The police busted a job racket gang that cheated nearly 100 men of over Rs. 3 crore by promising them jobs in the Railways.
The fraudsters conducted medical tests, took the victims on railway station visits, and even issued appointment letters and ID cards.
According to the Central Crime Branch (CCB), Sundaradas (65), a retired PWD staffer, and Jagannathan (53), a physical education teacher, both from Salem, orchestrated the fraud.
Over the past two years, they posed as agents hiring young men for Railway jobs. Rajan, a Perambur resident, who is the kingpin, is absconding.
“Sundaradas and Jagannathan spread the word about job openings with East Central Railway in Bihar, and collected between Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 5.5 lakh from each candidate. After pocketing their commission, the duo led the aspirants to Rajan who put them up in a lodge in Triplicane on the pretext of a job interview,” said A. Selvasekar, inspector, job racket wing of CCB.
The aspirants, primarily natives of Salem, and a few from Chennai, were taken to Samastipur and Hajipur railways stations in Bihar, where Rajan explained to them the workings of the Railways, and also carried out medical tests on them.
“The victims were then given fake appointment letters from East Central Railway and ID cards,” said Mr. Selvasekar.
After the young job aspirants realised they had been cheated, they approached the authorities in mid-2013 and lodged a complaint with the Chennai city police.
Sundaradas and Jagannathan were apprehended on Tuesday, and a search is on for Rajan.