The job visa fraud accused arrested by the Central police is suspected to have duped nearly 30 job aspirants of over ₹50 lakh within two police station limits alone in the last couple of years.
Shihab, 29, of Sulthan Bathery, was arrested on Friday after a 10-month-long hunt.
The Central police alone have registered nine cases based on petitions by more than double that number of victims who were collectively cheated of around ₹25 lakh. The North station registered another three cases after nine victims complained of loss of around ₹30 lakh.
“To our knowledge, he has cases against him at Ollur in Thrissur and in Sulthan Bathery. We expect more complaints,” said S. Vijayasankar, Inspector, Central police.
The police said that the accused had allegedly switched to illegal operations, offering job visas in European and Scandinavian countries in 2018 after having set up a firm in Kochi that provided student visas and other education-related services back in 2015. He ran branches in Kochi, Thrissur, and Wayanad which were eventually shut down.
Shihab allegedly chose countries that offered lucrative wages and then dangled the carrot of job visas in countries like Denmark, Norway, and Canada, to lure in potential victims. “While in most cases, those visas never materialised despite candidates making payments, in a couple of instances, those who had gone to the destinations had to return after encountering hardships,” Mr. Vijayasankar said.
It has emerged that the suspect did not have the requisite licence to run a business offering jobs abroad. “We have slapped him with Section 24 of the Emigration Act, in addition to IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property). We have all material evidence against him and will now register his arrest in the jail,” said V.B. Anas, Sub Inspector, North police. Police stations with cases registered against him are likely to follow suit, and they may seek his custody for further interrogation.
The suspect had absconded, initially, to Chennai once he got wind of police action. Though a police team from the Central station went to Chennai, that mission proved futile. A second mission to track him in Chennai was delayed by the outbreak of the pandemic. Then information reached that he had moved to Delhi. By the time the police reached there, he had returned to Kochi and was eventually nabbed.
