Bengaluru: Serial job scammer caught for cheating aspirants of Rs 1 cr

A 53-year-old woman who was on the run for cheating government job aspirants to the tune of over Rs 1 crore has been arrested at long last.

Umadevi R P, of Jayanagar 1st Block, was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) more than 10 years ago, but she kept cheating aspirants after coming out on bail, police said.

She introduced herself as the principal of a government polytechnic and claimed to be in charge of staff recruitment. She also boasted of having contacts with bureaucrats and politicians and promised jobs in various government establishments.

Siddapura police said Umadevi cheated more than 50 aspirants before disappearing. Many victims, including the father of a software engineer, filed complaints against her at Siddapura, CK Achukattu, Girinagar and Jayanagar police stations. A team headed by Siddapura police inspector Hanamantha K Bhajantri zeroed in on Umadevi in Mandya a week ago.

One of the victims, Sathish K, said his son Prateek S, 22, a software engineer, wanted a government job. He met Umadevi in December 2020 through a common friend. She promised Prateek a first-division assistant job at the college. She took Rs 6.65 lakh, but neither got him the job nor returned the money.

Kumar L, a car driver, filed a complaint with the CK Achukattu police stating that he had paid Umadevi Rs 23.6 lakh to get jobs for himself and two friends, Anand C and B Kumar. One of them, who paid Umadevi Rs 10 lakh, had filed a complaint with the Keragodu police station in Mandya.

Police were not able to recover any money from Umadevi who has now been remanded in judicial custody and sent to the Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara.

Umadevi was arrested by the CCB in July 2011 along with her associates Umesh Sridhar and Mohan Kumar. She had allegedly cheated 400 job aspirants back then.

The gang ran a firm called ‘SS Networks-Click Through’ and offered people easy money by working on the internet from the comfort of their homes. The job seekers were asked to click on website advertisements and were promised Rs 1 per click. Many people working in private firms quit their jobs to work for SS Networks.