2 FIRs registered against accused in overseas job fraud, vehicle loan scam

Jammu, Jul 14: Special Crime Wing, Crime Branch Jammu on Monday registered two separate criminal cases involving serious allegations of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and financial fraud, causing significant loss to both individuals and financial institutions.

In an overseas job scam of Rs 17.5 lakhs, a case has been registered against two persons.

A Police spokesperson said that a written complaint was received in the Special Crime Wing, Jammu, from a resident of RS Pura alleging that he was duped of Rs 17.5 lakhs by two individuals, Kartik Choudhary, son of Gurnam Choudhary and Ravinder Choudhary alias Sonu, son of Mohan Choudhary, both residents of Ward No 13, Purana Pind, near SBI Bank, RS Pura, Jammu.

The complainant alleged that the accused persons assured him that his son would be sent to Portugal on a work visa, and accordingly, he arranged and paid Rs 17.5 lakhs in multiple transactions, both via RTGS and cash. Despite repeated assurances, the son was first sent to Armenia on a tourist visa, where he remained stranded for 9 months before returning without any job or onward transfer to Portugal.

To mislead the complainant further, the accused issued dummy flight tickets, conducted a fake interview in Delhi, and finally issued two cheques of Rs 8 lakhs each, which were subsequently dishonoured. Investigation revealed that the accused were involved in a deliberate and well-planned conspiracy to cheat the complainant under the guise of overseas employment.

“The omissions and commissions by the accused persons constitute offences punishable under Sections 420, 120-B IPC, and a formal case has been registered at Police Station SCW, Jammu,” the spokesperson said. In another case, the Branch Manager of Bank of Maharashtra, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu filed a complaint against M/s Shuhul Automobiles Private Limited (an authorized Mahindra dealership) and Rakesh Sharma, son of Rattan Lal, resident of Marh, Jammu, a Sales Representative, alleging fraud in the disbursement of a vehicle loan worth Rs 12,07,110.

As per the complaint, the dealership issued a Proforma Invoice dated 17.01.2024 for a Mahindra Thar LX (2WD) under the name of M/s CM Enterprises (proprietor Chand Gupta), following which the bank transferred the entire loan amount to the dealer’s SBI account.