Two persons were taken into custody by the police in connection with the job racket fraud, in which 13 youth from Visakhapatnam district have been detained in Malaysia for overstaying, in S. Rayavaram in Visakhapatnam district on Monday.

According to S. Rayavaram police station sub-inspector Srininvas Rao, the arrested include Koda Raju the main agent in the job racket and his brother Koda Srinivas. The third accused Koda Gopi is still at large and is believed to be in Malaysia.

According to the police, all three are brothers and natives of Vada Narsapuram village in Rambili mandal of Visakhapatnam district.

The three brothers were allegedly running a fraud job consultancy and were collecting money to the tune of Rs. 1.2 lakh to 1.8 lakh, depending on the job profile, for jobs in Malaysia.

“The gullible youth were being sent on tourist visas,” said the Sub-Inspector.

The 13 were detained by the Malaysian government, as their tourist visas had expired. They were sent to Malaysia in the last week of November in 2014.

According to Laxmana Rao, who was one among the victims informed The Hindu that the 13 who were detained were just members from group. “I had been sent along with 30 other persons. I paid about Rs. 1.2 lakh for a job as welder. I attended a welding test, but failed. The agents told me to stay put and promised a job somewhere else. In the meantime my mother had fallen sick and I returned back after spending another Rs. 40,000,” he said.

According to S. Rayavaram SI, the issue had come to light on Sunday, only after the parents of one of the youth lodged a complaint. “But on Monday about 22 persons approached us with complaints and one person has lodged a complaint with the Fifth Town police station in Visakahapatnam city,” he said.

According to sources in the police, the case is a very serious one, and needs to be investigated in depth by senior officers. Moreover, even the External Affairs ministry is also involved and the embassies of both the countries need to intervene. But that seriousness appears to be lacking, as most of the youth are from the rural parts and their parents are not aware of the modalities and criticalness of the case, sources said.

Arrested include Koda Raju, the main agent in the racket