Delhi Police have initiated legal action against two recruitment agencies based in the capital's New Friends Colony area. This move comes after three men from Uttar Pradesh filed detailed complaints, alleging they were cheated with promises of lucrative employment abroad by these unauthorized firms.
Victims Lured with False Promises, Forced into Fraud
The first complainant, Ishan Ishrat (35), a resident of Aligarh, stated that agents from a Delhi-based travel and recruiting firm offered him a data entry operator position in Kuwait. They took Rs 1.6 lakh from him. However, the destination was changed without his consent, first to Thailand and then to Laos.
"I landed in Thailand on April 26, 2025, and was then taken to Laos," Ishrat recounted. There, he was instructed to sell cryptocurrency to Indians living in the United States, an activity he found suspicious and fraudulent. Refusing to comply, he used his own money to book a flight back to India, returning on May 1.
Stranded in Dubai Without Passports or Pay
In a separate but similar case, two men from Gorakhpur approached an agent for overseas jobs. The director of a recruitment agency-cum-training centre interviewed them in Gorakhpur on May 11, 2025. They were selected for carpentry jobs in the UAE with a promised monthly salary of 1,700 UAE dirham (approx. Rs 42,000).
Each paid Rs 80,000 for service charges, visa, and flight tickets. Upon reaching Dubai on June 22, they were assigned to a supply company as shuttering carpenters—work they were not trained for. When they protested, the Delhi agency told them to continue working.
The situation worsened as the company allegedly confiscated their passports, withheld salaries, made them work as helpers, and eventually forced them out. The duo was left stranded in Dubai for several days without food or money, surviving by hiding in different places until a relative sent money for their return to India.
Police Action and Legal Framework
Following their traumatic experiences, all three victims filed complaints with the office of the Protector of Emigrants under the Ministry of External Affairs. These complaints were forwarded to the Delhi Police.
The New Friends Colony police station subsequently registered a case under Sections 10 and 24 of the Emigration Act, 1983. A preliminary inquiry revealed a critical fact: both implicated agencies were not registered under the Act, rendering them completely unauthorized to conduct overseas recruitment.
This case highlights the risks associated with unauthorized recruitment firms and underscores the importance for job seekers to verify the credentials of any agency promising employment abroad through official government channels.
