Three held as police bust fake job racket

Kathmandu, October 10

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has arrested three persons for swindling several unemployed youth of cash with the promise of lucrative jobs abroad.

The fraud suspects arrested from different places of Kathmandu last week include Raju Tamang, 39, of Nuwakot, Gyan Govinda Baidya, 72, of Lalitpur and Jagat Bahadur Shrestha, 44, of Sindhupalchowk.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Kabit Katawal said the trio had collected Rs 100,000 to 200,000 each from at least 45 persons by convincing the victims that they would be employed in an organic agriculture firm.

“The frauds told the victims that they would earn USD 1,000 a month with food and accommodation. Most of the victims are unwary persons from rural areas. The gang had also seized their passports to make more money from them,” he informed. They were preparing to collect Rs 850,000 each from the victims as ‘fee’.

CIB has also seized Rs 430,000, bank vouchers and ATM cards from them. Tamang, who had been staying in Russia for the past two years, is the prime suspect. He had taken the victims into confidence, saying that he was the owner of Medina Organic Agriculture Firm there and he would provide them job. However, firm was found to be owned by a Russian national during investigation.

Tamang also showed the youth a fake ‘vacancy notice for appointment of 83 persons’ to mislead them. He mobilised his associates to various districts, including Sindhupalchowk, Chitwan, Jhapa and Parsa, in search of uneducated persons belonging to Newar, Tamang and Tharu communities. Shrestha was the main agent of Tamang while Baidya used to collect money from the victims by calling them to his house in Lalitpur.

They gang also caused the victim to undergo medical test for ‘visa’. Kathmandu District Court has remanded them to five-day judicial custody for further investigation into the case.