Lucknow, Dec 29 (IANS): A gang of fraudsters posing as a team of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), interviewed the gullible youth and even handed out appointment letters to them before vanishing from the scene.

An FIR has been lodged in Mahanagar police station on the complaint of one of the victims, Santosh Singh.

The gang had earlier, too, duped people in the name of providing jobs in FCI.

The complainant said he met the gang members Neeraj Pandey, Vikas Sonkar, Anoop Srivastava, Vikas Singh, Alok Srivastava, Amrendra, Jitendra, Kuldeep, Neelesh, Vinod Kumar, Raj Rastogi at a restaurant in 2019 and was promised job in FCI (clerical position) in lieu of Rs 8 lakhs.

"They conducted an interview in February at a multi-storey swanky office in Delhi having name and insignia of FCI," Singh alleged.

He also appeared in a MCQ-based written test and a personality test along with other candidates.

A gang member posing as GM of FCI took interviews and demanded Rs 5 lakh for the confirmation of appointment.

"In May, I got a call from the accused asking me to join FCI unit in Sirsa Haryana and a letter bearing insignia of FCI, labelled as trainee, was received," he added.

"When he reached Sirsa, he found many others too having similar letters. I was told that the capacity was full and had to go to Barwala in Haryana. I again got a call from the accused asking me to come to Delhi. I was then told that I will get my joining letter after four months."

The victim was asked to shell Rs 15,000 more for training certificate.

Finally, he was told that all vacancies were full, and he will have to wait. Following which, in 2021, the victim sought his money back but never got it, said the police.

The police have managed to nab two gang members Neeraj Pandey and Jitendra Kailash after a year-long electronic surveillance. The members used to target students near coaching institutes.

SHO Mahanagar, K.K. Tiwari, said teams were formed to arrest other members of the gang.