"Cheat us, but give us experience certificates"

Priya Padmanabhan with Dheeksha Rabindra

BANGALORE: Young graduates wanting to get into the IT industry but lacking the experience and skills to enter the portals of the IT biggies and mid-size companies, join IT firms that promise to train them on the job and then absorb them within the company.

However, a few of these companies are preying on these vulnerable youngsters by extracting sizeable deposits and training fees without paying them salaries. Such a case came to light when CyberMedia News visited ProjSoftware Solutions Ltd located at Green Leaf Extension in Koramangala here.

On its website, Proj Software IT Solutions claims that it is a $20 million company which is part of BASICS group. The recruitment process is quite simple. Candidates pay a registration fee of around Rs 1000 and training fee of Rs 14,000. Upon “selection” into the company, candidates shell out a security deposit of between Rs 60,000 to Rs 75,000. ProjSoftware employs around 380 employees.

CMN spoke to a few employees who said that they have not been receiving their salaries for the last few months. Their requests to the company to return the security deposit have been of no avail. According to company insiders, two executives at the managerial level have made away with money.

This has left the employees in the lurch. Most of them are too scared to divulge any details let alone lodge a formal compliant against the company. They fear that their future would be at stake and that the ProjSoftware may deny them experience certificates.

When CMN visited the company office and asked to speak with senior officials, they were denied entry and asked to leave the premises. Repeated calls to Mukesh, the company’s CEO, also went unanswered.

The firm claims to develop “softwares based on Java, Oracle, J2ME, Embedded systems platform to fulfill any technical domain.” The client list on its website includes prominent firms such as AT&T Wireless, Emirates Airlines, Verizon Telecom and Bank of America among others.

Meanwhile, Mukesh, who was staying at a rented accommodation at the HSR Layout, has vacated the premises.

An employee who spoke to CMN on condition of anonymity said he doubted whether Mukesh is the real name of the CEO. The company website does not mention Mukesh’s name, but states Lalitha Sharma as the CEO of the company. Repeated attempts to contact Lalitha Sharma also went in vain.

Lalitha Sharma and Sumeet Sharma are said to be heading the BASICS group, “which has a six sigma certification.”

According to J Parthasarathy, additional director, Software Technology Parks of India, (STPI), Bangalore, there are a few companies that are not registered with STPI, which cheat their employees in this fashion.

“The recourse for the employees is to file a complaint with cybercrime department or with the police,” he said adding such cases have happened in Bangalore in the past.

© CyberMedia News