Conman promises jobs at atomic research centre, dupes brothers

In a unique case, a conman who posed as an officer of the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Research Centre duped two Matunga siblings of cash and gold ornaments collectively worth Rs70,000 by promising them decent jobs at the Bombay Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He even took them for a medical check-up to Jaslok Hospital at Peddar Road. The duo has registered a case of cheating against the conman at Gamdevi police station.

Narrating the incident, Manjunath Devadiga, 32, said, “On November 18 at around 10.30am, I was looking for jobs in the newspaper while standing at a book stall outside Matunga railway station. A man came up to me and introduced himself as Surya Rao, an officer at BARC in Trombay. He told me that his organisation needed a storekeeper and accountant as soon as possible.” Devadiga told Rao that he and his younger brother Ganesh Devadiga, 29, both graduates, were hunting for decent jobs.

After collecting Rs5,000 in cash from them, Rao took them to Jaslok hospital on the pretext of a medical check-up of candidates. At the hospital, he took Rs4,000 in cash from the brothers for the medical check-up expenses as well as their gold chains, saying he would return them after the medical exam. Once inside the OPD and on asking hospital personnel, the brothers realised they had been duped but by then, Rao had used the emergency exit to escape.