48 manpower consultancies of Hyderabad blacklisted by Protector of Emigrants
Hyderabad: Dozens of fake overseas manpower consultancies are active in Telangana's capital. They cheat gullible people who are desperate to go abroad take up employment.
Though official sources say that over 48 overseas manpower/job consultancies based in Hyderabad have been blacklisted by the Protector of Emigrants (POE), many more thrive in the city, preying on young people who want jobs, and evading enforcement agencies for years.
In the last six months Hyderabad city police have raided and busted 10 such fake consultancies and have arrested 12 people. More raids are likely in coming days.
No manpower agency can operate without a licence from the Union Ministry of Labour.
A licence from the Ministry of Labour is mandatory for manpower consultancies and according to the official list of the Ministry of External Affairs Overseas Employment Division, only 44 consultancies are authorised and legal in Hyderabad as of November, 2016.
Hundreds of young people have fallen prey to the phoney promises of unauthorised agencies and have lost lakhs of rupees.
The scamsters convince victims that their head offices located in other cities have POE certificates.
They charge for processing the visa, service charge, refundable security and medical tests. The visa will never be delivered and the money will never be paid back.
The crooks evade enforcement agencies successfully even if their consultancies are blacklisted by the POE or Ministry of External Affairs Overseas Employment Division (MEA-OED).
“Once they come to know that they have been blacklisted by the POE or MEAOED, they change the firm’s name and relocate. Most of the fake agents never open a permanent office and do not have a permanent name for their consultancies,” said B. Limba Reddy, DCP of Commissioner’s Task Force.
“The trick to get more money is taking it in instalments. They convince the victims by showing fake progress in the application. Once the victim pays a huge amount, the scammer says that the process is getting delayed. The visa will never be delivered,” said West Zone Task Force inspector L. Raja Venkat Reddy.
When victims demand their money back the scammers threaten them or just disappear. “Another psychological trick is to pay a small amount back and settle the matter. A victim, who has waited for many months, will be satisfied to get at least a small part of the money back,” said another police officer.
