Mumbai: Duo Booked For ₹8.29-Lakh Recruitment Scam After Faking Angola Firm, Selecting 320 Candidates | Representational Image
The Bhandup Police have registered a case against Amitkumar Burman and Gurinder Singh for allegedly cheating Astral Manpower Services of ₹8.29 lakh by falsely claiming that Angola-based Geosop Agro L.A.D. required skilled manpower and that 320 Indian candidates had been selected.
According to the FIR, complainant Prashantkumar Kalishankarprasad Singh Vatsayan, 55, a voluntary retiree from the Indian Air Force, is the CEO of Astral Manpower Services, a foreign recruitment agency registered with the MEA and operating from Thane for 12 years.
Email Identity, Agreement and ‘Selections’ Raise Credibility
In February 2025, the company opened a branch at LBS Road, Bhandup (West) and placed Vatsayan in charge. On May 2, marketing head Santosh Palve was contacted by Burman, who claimed that Geosop required Indian workers and provided an email ID for communication.
On May 8, a person posing as the Director (HR & Admin) of Geosop claimed the company needed 551 skilled workers and shared job details and pay structure.
On May 13, a purported agreement was executed between Astral and Geosop Agro L.A.D. Gurinder Singh, presented as Geosop’s India representative, allegedly oversaw the recruitment process. He soon declared 362 candidates selected after conducting online interviews.
Training Conducted, Documents Collected, Money Transferred
Between June 16 and June 23, training for 320 candidates was conducted across several states, reportedly by Burman. Candidates were asked to submit original documents PCC, medical certificates, biodata and educational records for MEA attestation.
Astral couriered documents to addresses in Dehradun and Delhi, as instructed. Each candidate was told to transfer ₹37,760 to Burman’s HDFC account for attestation charges.
For economically weaker candidates, the agency itself paid ₹6,79,680 into Burman’s account.
On August 20, Singh demanded more money for alleged attestation corrections. Following Burman’s instructions, the agency transferred ₹1.50 lakh to the HDFC account of his associate Mohit Kumar in Saharanpur, UP.
Scam Unmasked: Angola Firm Shut a Decade Ago
When Astral sought progress updates, the accused began giving evasive answers. Suspicious, the agency conducted deeper verification and discovered that Geosop Agro L.A.D. had shut down nearly 10 years ago.
Vatsayan concluded that Burman and Singh had fabricated a fake email identity, faked agreements, and conducted sham interviews and training to cheat the agency.
FIR Registered; Probe Continues
The Bhandup Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act. Further investigation is underway.
