The cyber cell of Wayanad Police has apprehended two individuals in connection with a Delhi-based online job fraud case. The accused, identified as Balraj Kumar Varma from New Delhi and Ravikanth Kumar from Bihar, were apprehended in the national capital and subsequently brought to Kerala. Their arrest comes after they defrauded a Kerala woman of Rs 5 lakh, promising her a job at a hospital in Dubai. The victim, a Pulpalli native, filed a complaint when the fraudsters stopped responding to her calls.
The modus operandi of the racketeers involved gathering the victim’s personal details from an online job portal. They coerced her into registering on a fake portal, manipulating her trust and demanding money at various stages under the pretext of various procedural requirements.
An officer from the cyber wing disclosed, “Our team tracked the complainant’s payments to bank accounts in Bihar and discovered that the SIM cards used were registered in Delhi. Further investigation revealed that the fraudsters had forged documents to open bank accounts and obtain SIM cards.”
Balraj’s arrest led to the identification of Ravikanth, who possessed an MCA degree and was presumed to be a computer expert. Police seized vital evidence, including source codes of the fake website, server details of the fraudulent job portal, bank account information, SIM cards, passbooks, cheque books, and laptops from the accused.
The arrested duo was presented in Tis Hazari Court in New Delhi, and Kerala Police gained custody with a transit warrant. Subsequently, they were brought before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Kalpetta and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
The investigation was conducted under the supervision of Wayanad District Police Chief Padam Singh and led by District Cyber Crime Police Inspector Shaju Joseph. Several civil police officers were also part of the team.
SP Padam Singh issued a warning to job aspirants, advising them to verify the authenticity of job portals before applying. He emphasized that responsible institutions do not demand ‘One Time Passwords’ (OTPs), individuals’ banking details, or substantial registration fees. He urged victims of job fraud to promptly register complaints, either by dialing the crime registration number ‘1930’ or by filing a complaint on www.cybercrime.gov.in.
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