A young Indian man's dream of an overseas career turned into a nightmare when he was trafficked to Myanmar and forced into a cyber fraud operation. The victim, a 23-year-old MBA graduate from Meerut, was recently rescued and brought back home after a harrowing four-month captivity.
The Deceptive Job Offer and Abduction
Ashish Kumar, a resident of Defence Enclave in Kankerkhera, Meerut, had completed his MBA in London. After returning, he was employed with a Noida-based firm in May 2025. During this time, he met a man named Keshav Kumar, who promised him a lucrative job opportunity in Thailand.
Believing the offer to be genuine, Ashish attended an online interview on May 20. Subsequently, he flew to Bangkok on June 1. Upon arrival, his ordeal began. A taxi driver picked him up and took him to a seaside location. From there, he was transported by boat to a company facility in Myanmar, far from the promised Thai job.
Captivity and Coerced Cyber Fraud
At the Myanmar facility, Ashish was met by a man identifying himself as Mohd Asad, who posed as a company official. Ashish's passport and personal belongings were immediately confiscated. He was then coerced into carrying out cyber-fraud activities for Chinese nationals operating the scam centre.
Ashish alleged he was confined to the facility and deprived of proper food. The traffickers went a step further by creating fake social media accounts in his name to conduct fraudulent operations, effectively using his identity to scam others.
The Rescue Operation and Repatriation
When Ashish failed to contact his family for over a week, his worried relatives alerted the Indian Embassy. Acting on this alert, Myanmar authorities conducted a raid on the facility on October 20. Ashish was rescued during this operation.
With continued assistance from the Indian Embassy, he was finally repatriated to India on November 18, ending his four-month nightmare.
Legal Action and Investigation
Meerut Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vipin Tada confirmed that a case has been registered. The charges include sections of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS): 143 (trafficking of a person), 318 (cheating), and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
The accused named in the complaint include Keshav Kumar, a man identified as Denny or Shivam, Mumbai-based Asad, and several unidentified Chinese and other foreign nationals. "A detailed investigation is underway," stated SSP Tada.
Ashish's father, Balendra Kumar (56), is an Army veteran who now serves as a substation officer in the state electricity department. The family's alertness and the coordinated efforts of Indian and Myanmar authorities led to the successful rescue.
This case highlights the dangers of fake overseas job offers and the sophisticated networks of cyber fraud operations run by transnational criminal groups, often targeting educated youth with promises of high-paying careers abroad.
