MADURAI: A 39-year-old Madurai woman was among the two suspects the city police arrested recently for employment fraud.
The woman claimed she was a former employee of a leading software development firm. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Crime) K Palanikumar said S Maheshwari could have cheated job seekers in other cities, including Chennai and Tiruchy, as well.
The incident
According to sources, Maheshwari gave an advertisement in a newspaper announcing direct recruitment for graduates by the software development firm.
The advertisement claimed that the job, a technical one, would fetch a selected graduate Rs 75,000 as stipend during the three-month training period.
The catch, however, was the refundable amount and the training fee. The job seeker should deposit Rs 50,000 as 'refundable' amount and Rs 1.25 lakh as 'fee' for the training.
The job seeker should deposit the total Rs 1.75 lakh at the time of their interview.
The 'refundable' amount would be returned after selection, the advertisement said. Sources said that over 60 job seekers attended the interview which took place in a hotel.
Tip-off
The advertisement caught the attention of a Madurai man who had attended an interview with the company earlier and was waiting for the offer letter.
Anxious to know about the status of his selection, he called the company and asked them why they have issued a fresh recruitment notice.
When the company told him that it was not aware of any such notification, the man passed the information to the city police.
Commissioner of Police S Davidson Devasirvatham ordered DCP Palanikumar to look into the issue, and a team, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime-Tallakulam) Chandran, interrogated Maheshwari and her assistant D Purnakumar (35) of Kadachanendal.
The duo denied the charges at first and produced a document to substantiate their claim. The document was a forged one.
The management of the software development firm told the city police that several persons had cheated youth using their company name in Chennai and Tiruchy as well.
The company has yet to confirm Maheshwari's claim of having worked for it in 2008.