KOLKATA: A placement agency in Kolkata’s Thakurpukur has been accused of luring two youths from the city’s Ekbalpur area with the promise of high-paying jobs in Turkey, only to send them to Uzbekistan instead.
The two youths eventually managed to return to Kolkata and file a police complaint. The police have now arrested two individuals associated with the fraudulent agency.
Allegedly, the agency collected Rs 2 lakh from each individual. Later, they were informed that the job would be in Uzbekistan rather than Turkey. Their passports were collected after fake visa documents were sent via WhatsApp.
Upon receiving their passports in Delhi, the youths discovered they were being sent to Uzbekistan on tourist visas, with assurances that the visa status would be changed upon arrival.
However, the situation changed drastically once they reached Uzbekistan. Instead of the promised high-paying jobs, they were allegedly forced to work as delivery personnel and were provided with only one meal a day.
They also discovered that the hotel mentioned in the visa documents was non-existent; they had to pay for their own accommodation. One of the youths was even arrested for working on a tourist visa.
Ultimately, to avoid further legal trouble, they fled from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan via an illegal route with the help of a broker. After remaining in hiding there for some time, they managed to return to Kolkata.
When the youths visited the Thakurpukur agency office to demand a refund, they were allegedly threatened. The youths also claimed that attempts were made to take action against them by filing false police complaints. Finally, they lodged a formal complaint against three individuals from the agency at the Ekbalpur Police Station.
Since the agency’s office is located in the Thakurpukur area, the Ekbalpur police registered a ‘Zero FIR’ and transferred the case to the Thakurpukur Police Station.
Kunal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) for the Kolkata Police, stated that two individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The court has remanded them to three days of police custody. The Kolkata Police headquarters is preparing to take stringent action against fraudulent employment agencies. - The Statesman/ANN
