Kochi police register fresh cheating case against immigration firm CEO

Palarivattom police in Kochi have registered another case against the founder and chief executive of immigration services firm Amster Overseas over an allegation that a job seeker was cheated of ₹1.48 lakh. The case was registered on Saturday against Parvathy Maya Shaji and company managers Abhijith and Aju K. Mathew.

It follows a complaint from a young man from Ponnani in Malappuram district, who alleged that he paid the money after being promised work at a warehouse in Poland in 2023. The new case was filed two days after Shaji was arrested in two similar cases. She was detained when she arrived from abroad at Thiruvananthapuram and was arrested by Palarivattom police on Thursday.

The earlier complaints came from two people from Erumapetty in Thrissur and Mamala in Ernakulam. They alleged that they had been cheated after being promised jobs in Armenia and Poland. Several other people, including Shaji’s husband, Aneesh Menon, have also been booked in those cases.

Shaji was sent back to judicial custody on Saturday after the period granted for police custody ended. Police sources said no cases had yet been registered against the accused at other police stations. A police officer said more people had contacted investigators following news of Shaji’s arrest.

According to the officer, the company had begun repaying money received from several people who were promised work visas, but the repayments were taking place only after cases were registered. The allegations remain under investigation. The supplied material does not state whether the accused have responded to the latest complaint or the earlier allegations.