Representative image showing a police officer.
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Bengaluru: Two men claiming to be senior officials in the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) allegedly cheated several people of Rs 50 lakh by promising them jobs without examinations or interviews.
The Malleshwaram police have registered an FIR based on a complaint from Karigouda S Patil, whose relatives lost money to the "slick" scam.
His advocate Owaiz Hussain S confirmed the complaint.
Patil alleged that the suspects — N Krishnan and his associate Nagaraj — collected large sums of money between December 2022 and December 2023, claiming they were authorised by the state government to recruit candidates for the KMF.
Krishnan allegedly introduced himself as a senior KAS officer and KMF director, while Nagaraj claimed to hold a senior position in the federation.
The suspects allegedly showed KMF identity cards and newspaper advertisements published in October 2022, claiming that 487 posts would be filled shortly, of which 25 posts would be directly recruited by them.
Believing the claims, Patil shared the information with some of his relatives and acquaintances. He alleged that Rs 36 lakh was transferred through bank accounts while Rs 14 lakh was paid in cash during two meetings held at a hotel in Malleshwaram.
The complainant further alleged that the suspects sent emails in the name of KMF, calling candidates for interviews in Mysuru, lending credibility to the purported recruitment process by issuing fake offer letters.
In March 2024, the two suspects allegedly executed agreements with 10 candidates and issued cheques as assurance, stating that the amount would be refunded if jobs were not provided.
But despite repeated assurances, appointment letters were never issued. The suspects allegedly delayed the process, citing a change in government, and later demanded additional payments.
In May 2025, the suspects allegedly claimed they were acting on instructions to collect more money and falsely stated that the ministers concerned had sought additional amounts, demanding up to Rs 25 lakh per candidate for immediate issuance of appointment letters.
When the complainant refused to pay further and sought a refund, the suspects allegedly warned that neither jobs nor refunds would be given unless more money was paid. Their mobile phones have been unreachable for the past three months.
The Malleshwaram police said they were examining supporting documents, including bank statements, agreements, cheques and emails, and would take further action after verification.