A representative image.
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Belagavi: Three persons from the city, who had been forced into cyber slavery in Cambodia after being promised data entry jobs in Singapore, were rescued by the joint efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Family members of the victims had filed a plaint with the police against three conmen, who had cheated them on the pretext of providing jobs. The victims, Akash Vithal Kaganikar, a resident of Parvati Nagar, Udyambag, Omkar Sambhaji Lokhande and Sanskar Sambhaji Lokhande, residents of Honaga-Bennali village in Belagavi taluk, were brought back a few days ago.
Police said the accused Prasanna Hundre, Asif, both residents of Belagavi, and Amit, a native of Punjab, ran a fake job racket from Belagavi. They lured the gullible youth with data entry jobs in Singapore, promising them a salary of Rs 1.25 lakh per month and collected Rs 2.5 lakh from the youth. They took the trio to Cambodia and forced them into cyber slavery. The accused had trapped about 20 Indians from different places into cyber slavery. Sachin Kaganikar, a victim’s brother, had filed a plaint with CEN police on December 25, last.