Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing has arrested the alleged mastermind of an overseas employment fraud in which at least 41 job seekers were allegedly cheated of around ₹40 lakh with promises of jobs in Russia and Israel.
The accused, Shantaram Barku Shelke, proprietor of M/s SS Overseas Travels Agency, was arrested from Nalasopara in Maharashtra’s Palghar district after allegedly evading investigators by switching off his phones and providing misleading addresses.
Police say Shelke and an associate identified as Asif used social-media advertisements to attract unemployed people looking for work abroad.
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Fake visas, offer letters and tickets built victims’ trust
According to the EOW, prospective workers were told that jobs had been arranged for them in Russia and Israel.
The accused allegedly collected money from them for employment processing, visas, travel and related formalities.
To make the scheme appear genuine, the victims were allegedly given forged job offer letters, fake visas and dummy flight tickets.
Many believed the entire recruitment process had been completed.
The fraud came to light only when some of the victims reached the airport and were informed that the documents they had been given were not genuine.
By then, police say the accused had stopped answering calls.
The office was allegedly shut down and the men disappeared.
Agency operated from Laxmi Nagar with GST registration
Investigators found that Shelke had operated SS Overseas Travels Agency from Jawahar Park in Laxmi Nagar, east Delhi.
Police say he had also obtained GST registration for the business, which helped the office appear legitimate to job seekers.
That detail is significant because victims of employment fraud often look for visible signs that a recruiter is genuine.
An office, GST number, visiting card or company registration can create confidence.
But those records do not automatically mean an agency is authorised to recruit Indian workers for employment abroad.
Overseas recruitment in India is regulated separately, and job seekers should verify authorised recruiting agents through the Ministry of External Affairs’ eMigrate system before paying money or handing over passports.
The420.in recently reported that officials have repeatedly warned people against unauthorised overseas recruitment agencies and job offers that bypass the eMigrate framework.
Money allegedly entered both company and personal accounts
The EOW says a substantial portion of the money collected from victims was deposited in the agency’s bank account as well as Shelke’s personal account.
Investigators recorded statements from the victims, the landlord and other witnesses.
They also collected bank records, rent agreements, mobile-phone records and other documentary evidence as part of the probe.
Those records were later used to trace the accused.
Police say repeated searches were carried out at suspected locations in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, but Shelke allegedly continued changing locations and avoided detection.
An arrest warrant was then obtained.
Investigators correlated bank transactions, mobile records and other technical information before tracing him to Nalasopara.
Arrest made in Maharashtra after multi-state search
An EOW team travelled to Maharashtra and arrested Shelke from Nalasopara.
He was subsequently produced before a court and police obtained his remand.
Police are now examining his criminal antecedents and trying to establish the role of other people allegedly connected with the operation.
The associate identified as Asif was named in the police account as someone who allegedly worked with Shelke to collect money from victims. The available reports do not indicate that he has been arrested in the latest action.
Further investigation is continuing.
Airport discovery is recurring pattern in overseas job scams
The modus operandi resembles several overseas employment frauds reported across India.
Victims are offered attractive foreign jobs, asked to pay large processing amounts and then given professional-looking documents.
The fraud sometimes remains hidden until the job seeker arrives at the airport or reaches the destination country.
The420.in previously reported a Gujarat case in which 29 people were allegedly cheated of more than ₹1.06 crore after being promised jobs, work permits and e-visas in Europe and Dubai.
In another case from Gonda, around 250 young men were allegedly cheated of ₹3.12 crore with promises of jobs in Russia.
A separate Gorakhpur case involved 34 job seekers who were allegedly issued fake visas and air tickets for overseas employment.
The Delhi case follows the same basic trust-building pattern: social-media advertisements, a physical office, official-looking documents and a promised departure date.
GST registration does not equal recruitment authorisation
One practical lesson from the case is that basic company paperwork is not enough to verify an overseas recruiter.
A GST number only establishes registration for taxation purposes.
It does not itself authorise a business to send workers abroad.
For overseas employment, job seekers should independently verify the recruiting agent through official government channels and confirm the employer, job contract, visa category and travel documents before making substantial payments.
Anyone offered an overseas job should be especially cautious if the recruiter demands large advance fees, insists on cash transfers or provides documents that cannot be independently verified with the employer or embassy.
The allegations against Shelke and others remain under investigation and have not been proved in court.
What this means for you: Before paying an overseas job agent, verify the recruiter on the MEA’s eMigrate platform and independently confirm the visa and job offer with the employer. A GST number, office address or professional-looking ticket is not proof that the recruiter is authorised.
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