BHUBANESWAR: For years, the advertisements looked official, the fees modest and the promise compelling: stable government jobs at a time of deepening unemployment. Only later did investigators uncover that behind the paperwork and examinations was a carefully constructed fraud that drew in lakhs of hopeful applicants across India — and siphoned off crores of rupees.
A Recruitment Drive That Looked Like the State
Beginning around 2020, job advertisements started appearing in regional newspapers across at least 10 states, announcing vacancies for posts such as district and block coordinators, computer operators and surveyors. The notices closely resembled official government notifications, down to the language, format and prescribed qualifications.
Applicants were directed to apply online through a website — www.grks.org — ostensibly run by an entity called Gramin Rojgar Kalyan Sansthan (GRKS). The organisation was projected as a government-linked body involved in rural employment and skill development. Application fees were set at ₹170 for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates and ₹320 for general category applicants, amounts low enough to seem routine and credible.
According to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha’s crime branch, examinations were even conducted, reinforcing the illusion of legitimacy. But appointments never followed.
“Lakhs of unemployed youths across the country applied for these posts from 2020 onwards, paying the required fees,” said Dilip Tripathy, Superintendent of Police with the EOW. “Though examinations were conducted, no appointments were ever made”.
Inside the Architecture of the Fraud
Investigators say the operation was not a one-off scam but a structured, interstate racket. GRKS, they allege, was a sham firm floated specifically to lend institutional credibility to the scheme. The website and advertisements were produced in multiple languages to widen reach, and remuneration packages were pitched as “attractive” to match prevailing government pay scales.
At the centre of the operation, police allege, was Gautam Kumar, 45, a native of Dumaria Parbatta village in Bihar’s Khagaria district, who was arrested this week from Delhi’s Rohini area. Kumar allegedly presented himself as a skill developer who would oversee the training of successful recruits.
Financial records examined during the probe suggest that application fees alone amounted to about ₹3.48 crore. Of this, investigators say Kumar personally received ₹69.2 lakh routed from GRKS accounts through the bank accounts of two companies and a trust linked to him. The entire amount, police allege, was misappropriated.
The Arrest and the Network Behind It
Kumar had been on the run for nearly two years and was facing a non-bailable warrant at the time of his arrest. Police officers describe him as part of a larger network operating across state borders, with key associates handling logistics, publicity and finances.
Three of his alleged associates Dharampal Singh, Amit Singh and Jairam Tiwari, all from Bihar were arrested by the EOW in 2023. A cheating case was registered on January 25 that year after fake recruitment advertisements appeared in Odisha newspapers, luring jobseekers with promises of government employment.
While Kumar was employed in a private company, investigators say he used the appearance of professional legitimacy companies, trusts and official-sounding designations to mask the illicit flow of funds and evade scrutiny.
Police officials say the investigation is ongoing and could widen further as authorities trace money trails and identify additional beneficiaries or victims
