Mohammed Shafique Mohammed Hanif Khan, 42, was taken into custody in Mumbai on suspicion of cheating seven people out of Rs 35.90 lakh by making bogus employment offers in Azerbaijan and New Zealand. Khan reportedly ran a job consultancy in Agripada where he gave victims fictitious appointment letters, airline tickets, and visas. When the documents' authenticity was called into question, victims were questioned by the authorities. Khan has previously used similar strategies, such as issuing fictitious documents, to defraud a number of applicants out of Rs 80 lakh by promising abroad employment and visa arrangements for the USA and New Zealand, reported The Times Of India. Majority of the victims were from Gujarat.
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The accused was arrested from his residence in Mira Road. The police nabbed him from there after Ishwar Prajapati, a commission agent, filed an official complaint against him. The scam came to limelight when many clients of Prajapati received fake travel documents, and they alerted him about the documents.
Khan was not working alone. He had an accomplice, Zarina. Zarina managed another office at Mira Road. Zarina is on police’s radar and they are actively searching for her. Investigations revealed that they have scammed numerous people and the accused are facing multiple charges including cheating and forgery. The case is being transferred to the crime branch for further investigation, reported Free Press Journal.