Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SHS)
Mangalore, Jun 19: The Pandeshwar police on Thursday June 19 arrested a married couple for allegedly duping 30 photographers of Rs 12 lac with fake promises of providing jobs in the USA.
The accused couple, Haricharan Rao and his wife Rachana, are residents of Saraswatipuram in Mysore. They were arrested from their hometown and brought to the city on Thursday.
The arrest was made following a court order on a case filed against the couple by Arvind, a photographer in the city.
It is said that nine months ago, the couple got in touch with Arvind and through him, they contacted other photographers and offered them jobs in the US. The couple allegedly told them that IT giant Infosys was hiring photographers for its 'Colourworld' project in the US. A chief photographer would be paid salary equivalent to Rs 4.5 lac, and assistant photographer Rs 2.5 lac, they allegedly promised their victims.
The couple then reportedly collected Rs 30,000 each as 'deposit' from those wanting the job of assistant photographer, and Rs 75,000 from those applying for the higher post. This way, they fleeced Rs 12 lac from 30 photographers, promising free visas and repayment of their money before they would leave for the US, it is alleged.
The photographers transferred the money to the couple's SBI account in Mysore, and waited for some months to hear from them, but there was no communication at all. They then got in touch with Arvind, and after efforts to contact the couple failed, Arvind filed a case in the second JMFC court, which directed the Pandeshwar police to arrest the couple before July 20.
The Pandeshwar police, after investigations, arrested Haricharan and Rachana from their house in Saraswatipuram in Mysore. On Thursday they were brought to the city.
Sources said that the Haricharan and Rachana face a number of other cases too. They are accused in a fake currency case in Mysore and also in the abduction of a minor girl, sources said. Sometime back, they reportedly stayed in Bangalore's Taj West End hotel and left without paying the bill that had come up to Rs 2.5 lac. A complaint was filed in this regard by the hotel in High Grounds police station.
Further investigations are on.