Bhubaneswar: The Bureau of Immigration has issued a lookout circular against two persons accused of running a fake job racket and are suspected to have fled to Malaysia after non-bailable warrants were issued in their names.
The lookout circular was issued in the names of Bhiku Bisoi and Manikandan, who are directors of Kinney Infotech Private Limited, for duping jobseekers of more than Rs one crore, an official said Monday.
The circular was issued after requests by the economic offences wing of Odisha Police. The EOW has already registered a case against the company and its directors on April 27, 2022 under sections of the IPC and IT Act, 2000.
Lookout circular is generally issued to alert immigration check posts at airports and seaports to alert law enforcement agency if a wanted person tries to leave the country or arrive in the country from abroad.
The case was registered by taking over the investigation by Bhanjanagar police station in Ganjam district into allegations of collecting huge amounts of money from a large number of job seekers allegedly by Kinney Infotech Pvt Ltd through its office bearers for providing them jobs/work from home, the EOW said in a release.
Investigations revealed that during 2021 Bisoi, a native of Ganjam district and Manikandan, who hails from Chennai, had opened the office of Kinney Infotech Pvt Ltd at Bhanjanagar and employed some agents to persuade the common people to invest in their company with false assurances of providing the job/work from home, it said.
Allured by the offer, a large number of unemployed men had invested large sums of money with the company and the accused, who are directors of some other companies also, allegedly misappropriated the money, closed the office and fled.
“It is suspected that the accused persons are hiding or absconding in Malaysia. So far more than 100 duped investors who have been cheated of more than Rs one crore have been identified,” an EOW official said.
The NBW has been issued against Bisoi and Manikandan, while four office bearers of the company who were engaged in unauthorized collection of public deposits have been arrested and sent to jail.
The EOW has announced reward to anybody who provides information leading to the arrest of the accused persons and assured that the name and details of the informer will be kept a secret, the EOW release said.
PTI