Mumbai, Jan 3 (The Hindu): Stuck in a foreign land with no friends and no money after being promised a job, a 27-year-old Mumbai resident sent out a plea on Twitter, asking for help to return home. The Mumbai Police, through its recently launched Twitter handle, got in touch with him and have now launched an inquiry into a possible job racket.

In December, Kshitij Ganekar, was contacted on email by a man who identified himself as Mukesh Munda. The email, Mr Ganekar said, informed him that he had been selected for a job aboard a ship in Jakarta, Indonesia. Mr Ganekar and Mr Munda then remained in touch with each other through email and Facebook messages. Mr Munda allegedly told Mr Ganekar to meet him in Jakarta for further formalities.

“I reached Jakarta on Friday and contacted Munda on the number he had given me. On his instructions, I got a visa and waited for him to call me back, but there was no contact. I even went to the port he had mentioned and found no ship with the name that he had given me. In the evening, he took my call and told me that the ship had left earlier than usual, and asked me to wait. Since then, his phone has been switched off,” Mr Ganekar told The Hindu, on phone from Jakarta.

Mr Ganekar said apart from air fare and hotel expenses, which came up to Rs 1 lakh, he had also transferred Rs 65,000 to Mr Munda’s account, which left him with very little money. Finding himself trapped, Mr Ganekar then turned to Twitter, sending out tweets describing his predicament, and tagging several official handles, including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Mumbai Police. The Mumbai Police responded to his tweet, after which Mr Ganekar sent a detailed email recounting the sequence of events.

“We are in touch with Mr Ganekar, and have forwarded his email to the Versova police. They will be visiting Mr Ganekar’s residence and getting more details about the case, after which we will decide on further course of action,” said Mumbai Police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni.

The police have also alerted officials in Indonesia and the Indian Embassy there, requesting them for help. Meanwhile, Mr Ganekar’s parents managed to put together some money on Saturday evening and booked a ticket for a flight to India on Sunday.

The Versova police have registered an FIR in the case on charges of cheating. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Atul Chandra Kulkarni confirmed that this is the first such FIR based on a Twitter complaint received by the Mumbai police.

Once Mr Ganekar reaches Mumbai, the police will record his statement. The Cyber Cell of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch is trying to get details of Mr Munda’s bank accounts in Muzaffarpur to which Mr Ganekar transferred the money, said officials.