A fake job provider of Dinajpur has gone into hiding after cheating at least 245 jobseekers of Tk 25-30-lakh through a local NGO in Ranishankoil upazila of Thakurgaon.
Selina Islam alias Dr Selina of Dinajpur took Tk 25-30-lakh from the jobseekers through NGO Uttaran Samaj Seba Sangha of Katihar village in Ranishankoil upazila, in the name of providing job in a project under the Ministry of Social Welfare, said cheated jobseekers and NGO officials.
"In last March, the woman came to my office and impersonated herself as Dr Selina, executive director of Bangladesh Karigori Proshikkhan O Jubo Maan Unnayan Kendra of the Ministry of Social Welfare," said Subrata Bihary, director of Uttaran Samaj Seba Sangha at Katihar village in Ranishankoil.
"Selina told me that she would implement a Tk 1,500 crore project in Ranishankoil upazila and a good number of employees would be recruited for the purpose."
"When I asked her to show the project papers, she said those were kept with the deputy commissioner of Dinajpur as her organisation was jointly implementing the project with the district administration," he said.
Afterwards the matter of huge employment opportunity was circulated in the village and its adjacent areas and Dr Selina gave appointment letters to 245 jobseekers from the NGO office within a month.
The appointment letters signed by 'Dr Selina, executive director of Social Welfare Ministry, Golapbag, Dinajpur' asked the applicants to join social welfare offices in different unions of the district but there are no such offices at the union level.
Each of the applicants who got the appointment letter had to give Tk 5,000 to Tk 20,000 as security deposit but they were not given any receipts against it, said the cheated jobseekers who are yet to start work, let alone receive any salary.
Md Shahin Hossain, a youth of Bolidara village in Ranishankoil upazila, got appointment as a field worker and his monthly salary was mentioned as Tk 16,000.
"I deposited Tk 15,000 to get the job. But they have not started the project's activities yet. I was asked to join the upazila unit office of social welfare ministry at Baliadangi. But there is no such office here," he said.
Many others, who got appointment under the so-called project, are in the same boat now.
Subrata Bihary, who himself also got appointment as 'regional manager' with a high salary, said, "As per Selina's instruction we supplied manpower to her. But the project's work has not started after seven months of giving appointment."
As the jobseekers put pressure on us to return the deposit money we contacted with Selina and she gave us a cheque worth Tk 40-lakh of Janata Bank in Dinajpur branch on October 27. We went to the bank on November 1 but the cheque was bounced as the account had a small amount of money.
Deputy Director of Social Welfare Directorate, Dinajpur, Stiffen Murmu said following a number of allegations of cheating in the name of giving jobs in Dinajpur and Rangpur areas, we initiated action against Dr Selina and she went into hiding.
Deputy Director of Thakurgaon Social Welfare Directorate Sardar Tariqul Islam said they will take action against the local NGO as the fraud woman cheated people through it.
Contacted, Ranishankoil Upazila Nirbahi Officer Khanda-kar Md Nahid Hasan told this correspondent over cell phone, "I am yet to get any complaint. The upazila administration will take action against the frauds if complaints are failed."
The fraud woman could not be contacted despite making repeated calls to her cell phone.