KASHMIR NEWS TRUST #KNT
A fraudster who was booked by the police under Public Safety Act yesterday has been accused of duping scores of respectable families across Kashmir Valley, particularly families from Srinagar city.
Police said that fraudster Rizwan Ahmad Shah of Safakadal Srinagar was booked under PSA & lodged in Kot Balwal Jail Jammu. Police said that the accused had done fraud, human trafficking, child labor, and cheating. Police also advised people to check the credentials of consultancies for hiring domestic help.
The accused was running a consultancy agency by the name of ‘Shah Ji Consultancy, located in the Rajbagh area of Srinagar uptown. He was providing non-local domestic help to families, however, in most of these cases, the servants he provided either fled from the houses after stealing cash and goods or refused to do work.
The victim families while appreciating the police action against the accused demanded stern action against him.
Several people informed the news agency Kashmir News Trust that the accused Rizwan Ahmad Shah grabbed money from them. “I approached him for the services of a domestic help after coming across an advertisement for his consultancy in a reputed Daily. He demanded Rs 35,000 in advance and offered the service of non-local domestic help. To our shock, that domestic help not only stole money from our house but fled from Kashmir Valley,” said an aggrieved client.
She said that the accused was forcing his clients to deposit the salary of every domestic help in his personal bank account. “Instead of handing over the salary to domestic help, we used to deposit that in the accused’s bank account.”
Another client said that it’s a sad reality that in today’s world, people are still being scammed and duped out of their hard-earned money. And it’s even more heartbreaking when it involves vulnerable individuals who are seeking help around the house.
The client said that she was also deprived of her hard-earned money by the accused. She said that the accused was lying to the non-local lads that they have to serve in hotels and restaurants or take care of orchards in Kashmir. “The domestic helpers provided by the accused were reluctant to work at houses. My domestic help left our house saying that he doesn’t like to work in a house but arrived in Kashmir to work in a restaurant.”
Another client said that the accused Rizwan Shah lied to him that he was a resident of HMT Srinagar. “Yesterday, I came to know that he hails from Safakadal. He was claiming that he is related to a carpet business house and never cheat people. He grabbed money from me and then avoided me and even didn’t pick up my repeated phone calls,” he said.
One more client said that when he demanded his money back from the accused, he said he is a government employee and will pay him once he gets a salary. “Police should also probe whether the accused is a government employee or not. If he is a government employee, action should be taken against him under the rules,” he said.
“We urge everyone to be cautious when hiring any kind of service provider, especially if they are asking for payment upfront or seem too good to be true. Always do your research thoroughly, ask for references, and read reviews before making any commitments,” said a police official. [KNT]
