Mumbai: A YouTuber who lured job-seeking youth with false promises of lucrative employment abroad has been arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch. The accused, Sanjay Vishwakarma (33), was found to have duped several people across the country by uploading misleading videos on his YouTube channel and providing contact numbers to extract money under the guise of arranging work visas.
According to police sources, four cases have been registered against Vishwakarma in Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. He ran a YouTube channel named “Visa Expert Manpower” along with his associates, advertising foreign job opportunities with high salaries. The channel had over 6,000 subscribers, and its seemingly legitimate content including videos of job seekers allegedly being sent abroad earned the trust of many.
Victims who contacted the numbers listed on the channel were scammed after being assured of jobs abroad. In one such instance, Mohammed Hasan Ghulam Rasul, his son Asif, and son-in-law Munawar Shaikh were promised overseas employment on work visas. Vishwakarma and his accomplice Abdullah Hussain Alam Shaikh allegedly collected ₹4.09 lakh from the family. A case was registered at Charkop Police Station based on Rasul’s complaint.
Crime Branch Unit 5 first arrested Abdullah and handed him over to the Charkop Police. However, the prime accused, Vishwakarma, remained absconding. Acting on technical and human intelligence, a team led by Senior Inspector Ghanshyam Nair, including API Jaydeep Jadhav, Tanaji Patil, and Bhauso Pawar, tracked down and arrested Vishwakarma from Naigaon in Vasai.
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Police revealed that Vishwakarma often used fake identities and multiple mobile numbers to carry out the fraud. The accused even filmed people at airports before their supposed departure to further deceive victims into believing his scheme was authentic.
Further investigations have revealed that Vishwakarma has been booked in multiple cheating cases in Bhayandar (Navghar Police), Nagaur (Rajasthan), and Sadar Police Station (Haryana). Authorities suspect that he has cheated over 15 unemployed youth from different states under the pretense of sending them abroad for jobs. Investigations are ongoing.
