One held for conning jobless youth

​Hyderabad: The Santoshnagar police on Monday arrested a cab driver on charges of cheating unemployed persons by collecting money on the pretext of providing jobs in Gulf countries.

The accused identified as Mohammed Shakeel Ahmed (30), a resident of Khalendernagar in Santoshnagar. For several months, Shakeel has been luring innocent and illiterate persons on the pretext of providing jobs.

He had collected “advance amounts” from about 24 persons varying from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000, but did not provide visas to them.

Recently, one Syed Raoof of Mughalnagar came in contact with Shakeel through some of his friends, who had paid him advance amounts for getting visas to work in Gulf countries. Raoof also paid Rs 50,000 towards advance and waited for about two months for further communication from Shakeel.

Raoof lodged a complaint on July 15 when he did not get any communication from Shakeel, stating that he paid some amount to Shakeel to get a visa to work in a Gulf country. Shakeel arranged medical tests for Raoof and other persons but after that he ignored them, said Santoshnagar ACP V Srinivasulu.

“Shakeel was working as cab driver. To earn easy money, he hatched a plan to cheat innocent youths. He collected Rs 6.3 lakh from 24 persons and bought a car with that money.

The victims are from Phisalbanda, Riyasathnagar, Babanagar and Kanchanbagh areas. On Monday, he was arrested and 17 passports of the aggrieved persons along with a car have been recovered from him,” the
ACP said.