Date:16/10/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/10/16/stories/2004101604760500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Drive against fake travel agents: two arrested

By Our Staff Reporter

KARIMNAGAR, OCT. 15. The special drive launched by Karimnagar police to weed out unscrupulous foreign travel agents, who have been deceiving gullible rural masses by promising them lucrative jobs abroad at a premium, is reaping results with the unravelling of another fake travel agent and arrest of two persons.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the Superintendent of Police, Rajiv Ratan, said that based on complaints from victims, the special team SI, Ganapath Jadav, along with his team, arrested V. Sridhar of Nellore and Tajuddin of Hyderabad.

Sridhar, who runs a computer training centre in Nellore, visited Pothugal village of Mustabad mandal along with his followers in February 2004 and collected Rs. one lakh each from K. Venkatarajam, Ramachandram, Ch. Ramulu and D. Ventaka Ramulu promising them jobs in Malaysia.

Visiting visas given

After collecting the money, Sridhar sent the victims on visiting visas instead of employment visas to Malaysia. After landing in the foreign country, one Murugun, an associate of Sridhar, had sold them to one contractor for 10,000 Malaysian ringgits.

These victims, who were lodged in a single room, faced several problems and had to go without food and employment. With the intervention of the Indian embassy and an Indian settled in Malaysia, they could reach the country after eight months of ordeal.

In another incident, G. Damodar Reddy of Jawaripet village in Ellanthakunta mandal paid Rs. 65,000 to Qader, Yakub ali and Tajuddin, who promised to send him to Dubai for employment. But after collecting money, he realised that he was cheated. The SI arrested one of the accused, Tajuddin from Hyderabad.

SP's appeal

The SP appealed to the gullible rural masses not to get carried away by the tall claims of foreign travel agents and urged people desirous of seeking employment abroad to approach only the licensed agents in Hyderabad.

He also said that they had launched a special drive against the fake finance companies in the district.

He appealed to the people not to invest their hard earned money in fake finance companies that lured them with high interest rates and gifts. He also informed people to alert the police or revenue officials if any fake finance company promised them high interest rate for their deposits. He said that so far, they had closed 10 bogus finance companies by settling the amount of depositors in the district. The Additional SP (admn), M. Sudarshan Reddy, and the Karimnagar DSP, Y. Sai Narsa Reddy, were also present.