Beware of fake Kisan Call Centres!

19-02-14

* Assuming different names, these fake ‘agriculture helpline services’ are duping jobless persons by asking them to pay ‘security deposit’ for 1,200 jobs

By Kartik Lokhande 
Some people can use unemployment to create ‘self-employment’ for themselves, albeit in an illegal manner. After duping countless many in northern states of the country, the fraudsters are eyeing jobless persons in Vidarbha by promising jobs in the name of Kisan Call Centre or similar names.
It has come to fore when one Virendra Ramdas Hadge, who had applied for job with Agriculture Kissan Call Centre after reading an advertisement in a local newspaper, was asked to pay ‘security deposit’. “I was shocked as the website of IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL), which has been recognised by the Government of India to recruit manpower in Kisan Call Centre, did not show Agriculture Kissan Call Centre as an affiliate. I feel that authorities must act against such fraudulent entities so that jobless persons are not duped,” Hadge said while talking to ‘The Hitavada’.
Hadge got suspicious when the Agriculture Kissan Call Centre, which has given office address of Gurgaon in Haryana, sent him a letter congratulating him for selection and also seeking ‘security deposit’. Hadge checked on the website of IKSL to find that the Government-recognised agency did not seek any security deposit from the selected candidates. The letter he received bears stamp of ‘Shakha Prabandhak, Kendriya Kisan Bhavan, Rozgar Karyalaya, Lucknow.’ It is curious to note that the so-called agency shows its office address in Gurgaon, and stamp on the letter bears address of Lucknow. The said agency has used round-seal that reads ‘Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India’.
When ‘The Hitavada’ tried to trace a telephone number ‘09457967879’ on the said letter, it was found that the said BSNL landline number was in use since 2007. It is located in Western districts of Uttar Pradesh namely Pilibhit, Bareilly, Badaun, Etah, Mainpuri, and Etawah as well as some parts of Uttarakhand. The advertisement published in local newspapers invited applications from young boys and girls for 1,200 jobs offering a salary of Rs 18,500 with free stay arrangement and meals. According to Hadge, many jobless from Vidarbha applied for the same as the salary was quite lucrative. The selection letter also had an ‘admit card’ attached to it, which stated that within 24 hours since ‘deposit of ‘security money in bank’, a representative from Ministry of Agriculture would reach the address of the applicant and hand over a mobile phone and laptop after scrutiny of documents.

IKSL warns of fake agencies
The website of IKSL states clearly that IKSL has office in Haryana but at Chandigarh and not Gurgaon. Further, IKSL website carries a warning, “IKSL does not charge any fee for the selection of candidates for Kisan Call Centre (KCC). Beware of Fraud Advertisements on Recruitments at KCC.” When contacted, officials from HR Department of IKSL told ‘The Hitavada’ over telephone that it had come across many cases of ‘fake agencies’ duping jobless persons across the country. A police complaint had been lodged in Delhi in this regard. “Such fake agencies seek ‘security money’ from applicants and then vanish into thin air,” said an official.

Ministry of Agriculture takes up matter with CBI
In written reply to a question in Lok Sabha last year, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Tariq Anwar had made it clear that the Ministry was aware of at least nine such agencies that ‘indulged in fraudulent advertisements on employment in the name of Kisan Call Centre or names alike’. In some cases, he had stated, website addresses also were given to lend credence to such bogus advertisements. Later, the Ministry had taken up the matter with Central Bureau of Investigation to get the matter investigated. After that, an officials in Agriculture Department said, the fake agencies appear to have shifted their operations to Central India.
Many jobless persons in Punjab, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan have been duped as they deposited ‘security money’ in given bank accounts and did not get any communication later on. Several of these complaints are available online on the website www.grahakseva.com.