Imphal, Dec. 27 (IANS): A job racket in northeast India has cheated hundreds of gullible youths in the region on false promises of providing employment and job-oriented training courses, police said on Wednesday. Based on media reports, the Manipur Police has taken several steps, including contacting their Chandigarh counterparts, to help them bust the racket.
The unemployment figure is exceptionally high in the northeast. There are over eight lakh educated youths in Manipur which has a population less than 28 lakh.
A dubious group of “professional trainers” from Chandigarh has been using a two-pronged strategy to cheat the youths: first, they shoot SMSs to the youths promising them plum jobs, and then they make false claims that they can train the youths in hospitality services.
A woman “director” in Chandigarh told IANS that “free hostel and meals are provided” during the training course, though she did not explain why her “institute” was offering such facilities.
Documents in possession of IANS only increase suspicion about the “institute”, whose location and name are cleverly concealed.The cyber crime unit of the Manipur Police has initiated steps to track down the persons behind this job racket.
A Muslim boy from Manipur was one of the duped youths who had been lured to the “institute”. He told reporters that the youths brought from the Northeast were herded in some rooms. “We were never allowed to visit the office, meet others or get further details. After some days we were told that unless we bring some other youths, we would not be provided employment. That is when we started having suspicion.”
Later, they were told that they must deposit a security amount of Rs 47,000 each and promised a pay package of Rs 15,000, he said, adding that some of them had decided to flee before it was too late.
According to him, many other youths were trapped there and the government must do something to rescue them.
Some of the gang members have approached prominent journalists so that some favourable articles are published, which would further help in trapping the unsuspecting Northeast youths.
