The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested an engineering student accused of defrauding unemployed youth across India by offering fake online job opportunities. The accused, identified as Kripal Sharma from Siliguri, West Bengal, was pursuing engineering at a reputed college in Dehradun’s Premnagar area. He lured job seekers with fraudulent employment offers, collected thousands of rupees from them, and then blocked their contacts. Over 30 complaints were registered against him on the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) portal from multiple states.
Modus Operandi of the Fraud
STF SSP Navneet Bhullar revealed that reports from I4C flagged complaints from states like Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Chandigarh. Investigations traced the fraudster to Nanda Ki Chowki, Premnagar, where he operated his scam.
SI Vipin Bahuguna found that the accused used LinkedIn to contact unemployed youth, offering jobs in a fake company, Neutrino Lab. He demanded ₹5,000–₹6,000 for purchasing a pen tab required for the job. Once payment was made, he blocked all communication.
STF arrested Kripal Sharma from Premnagar, seizing a laptop, mobile phones, pen tabs, debit and credit cards, and incriminating documents. His bank accounts are under investigation to determine the total amount scammed. A case under fraud and cybercrime laws has been registered at Premnagar Police Station.
How He Trapped Job Seekers
The accused directed candidates to take online tests via his website, neutrino.in, in subjects like physics and biology. He claimed unsuccessful candidates would receive refunds, but after receiving payments, he disappeared.
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STF is now tracing his financial transactions to ascertain the scale of the scam and the total number of victims.
