Hotel Management graduate duped twice in job fraud scheme targeting overseas work

A Hotel Management graduate was barred from entering Singapore for possessing forged visa documents obtained through a job scam promising him a position in a renowned hotel kitchen. Police in Pune have arrested one suspect and are searching for another in connection with the alleged scheme.

The 56-year-old victim, a businessman resident of Wanawadi, filed a complaint at the Bharti Vidyapeeth police station on December 21. An FIR was registered, and police identified and apprehended the accused, Pradip Dinkar Ilke.

According to the FIR, the victim's son, a graduate with hotel management experience, sought better job opportunities abroad. In April 2021, while searching for overseas work on Facebook, the victim encountered an advertisement and was introduced to Ilke.

Ilke, claiming to operate a hospitality training institute, offered the victim's son a job in Singapore. Police say Ilke collected a total of Rs 10,88,885 from the victim in installments and provided a forged job offer letter from a Singapore hotel promising a monthly salary of Rs 3.30 lakh.

The victim booked a flight ticket for his son from Mumbai to Singapore on September 19, 2021. However, at the Mumbai airport, Ilke informed them the visa was not approved by immigration authorities.

Despite this, the victim sent his son to Singapore. Upon arrival, immigration officials detained him due to the visa's invalidity and deported him back to India.

In January 2022, Ilke sent the victim's son a student visa and instructed him to fly to Singapore again. The son complied but was once more detained by immigration for visa discrepancies and deported.

Realizing he was defrauded, the victim attempted to recover his money but received evasive responses and was eventually ignored by Ilke. He then filed a police complaint, claiming a loss of Rs 10,88,885 paid to Ilke and an additional Rs 3.24 lakh spent on his son's two flights to Singapore.

Police booked Ilke and his accomplice, Ravi Singh Tomar, for cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Investigating officer Police Sub-Inspector Atul Thorat and his team swiftly arrested Ilke, a 50-year-old resident of Katraj. He is currently in police custody until December 23. The other accused, from Meerut, remains at large. Further investigations revealed that the suspects have defrauded multiple victims using similar tactics.