Chennai: A 28-year-old software engineer was arrested on Monday for cheating as many as 18 candidates promising them jobs in a popular software company and cheating them to the tune of Rs 36 lakh. The sleuths of Central Crime Branch arrested the engineer following complaints that he had taken Rs 2 lakh cash from each candidate and had mailed them fake appointment orders. He had allured them with an online advertisement.
Police said they arrested C Parthasarathy (28) of IAF Road, Pattabiram, near Avadi Bus Terminus, after one P Sivasakthi Kumar (23), a software engineer from Kumaran Colony, Vadapalani, lodged a complaint. Police said Parthasarathy, who lost his software job during a lay off in 2009, came up with the idea and posted an online advertisement claiming that he offered back-end work for software companies. He convinced those who responded that he could get them a better job with good pay in a popular software firm located in Kottivakkam and demanded Rs 2 lakh each.
Sivasakthi Kumar, his friend Anand and his other acquaintances from Chennai, Madurai and Erode paid the cash hoping to secure the jobs, police said. In November 2011, all the 18 candidates received appointment orders from the company through email, police said. When the candidates approached the company with the appointment order, they were informed that the letters were fake.
Police said Parthasarathy had earlier sent a fake interview letter and had conducted interviews over telephone posing as a representative of the company. After the candidates realised that they were cheated, they attempted in vain to get back their money from Parthasarathy who went absconding. They subsequently lodged a complaint with the police.
“Some of the 18 persons were freshers while the rest were working in small companies looking for bigger breaks. Since he promised jobs in a big company here, they all fell prey. This is the first time he’s being caught. He has also confessed to have cheated another 5 to 6 persons but he had returned their money. So far we are not able to confirm if he has cheated more people,” a CCB official said.
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