Man fleeces 46 on pretext of job in MC

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 21

A fake job scam has surfaced wherein a person from Tarn Taran fleeced 46 persons, including six women, on the pretext of providing them jobs in the Municipal Corporation (MC).

The victims were ‘recruited’ on posts of gardeners in the Horticulture Department of the MC in 2016 and they used to work in various gardens of the city.

Harjit Singh, a victim, who was ‘recruited’ in February, 2016, said Sukhwinder Singh alias Raju of Kajikot village of Tarn Taran met him through one of his friends. He finalised the deal to arrange a job in the Horticulture Department of MC for Harjit. Several others were working on the same job through Raju, who charged Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh from individuals to provide them a job, the victim said.

“In total, we were 46 gardeners given jobs by Raju. He provided us identity cards and joining letters on the MC letter head. Some persons even received monthly salaries of Rs 10,000. When others asked him to give salaries, he first gave the excuse of demonetisation of currency notes, then the model code of conduct for Assembly elections, then the elections and finally the change in government and its officials,” he said.

“We approached the panchayat of Kajikot village to return the money and pay the salaries. There, Raju claimed that Ravi Chouhan, a contractor of the MC, had fled with our salaries,” Harjit alleged.

Meanwhile, Ravi Chouhan claimed that he used to deploy MC workers in various gardens of the city but did not know Raju or the employees recruited by him.

“Finally, we discussed the issue with higher officials of the MC. Joint Commissioner Alka told us that the MC had not recruited anyone. But we used to meet officials of the Horticulture Department in routine while working in the gardens. Why did they not inquire as to who was working in the gardens without their consent,” said Harpreet Singh, another victim of the scam.

Executive Engineer Sandip Singh, in charge of Horticulture Department, said “I am not aware about the issue. I don’t know about any fake job scam”.

The victims have met MLA Raj Kumar Verka, who assured them of action against the culprit. The case has been reported to the police for investigation.