Hyderabad building fire: deceased are victims of multi-level marketing scam

The six persons who died in the multi-storied commercial building fire worked in a company, which had its office there. They had come from different villages of Telangana. It has been revealed that the deceased employees paid a huge amount of money to get the job.

Hyderabad: The multi-storied commercial building fire in Secunderabad on Thursday has brought to the fore a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) scam of an organisation housed there. The six persons who died in the fire were reportedly victims of this scam. The organization 'Qnet', which had its office at Swapnalok complex allegedly charged money from innocent job seekers as security deposit by promising them jobs.

The six deceased were employees of 'Qnet'. Although several allegations of irregularities were raised against this organization in the past, it had continued to operate. Over 40 employees work at the Qnet office. Around 20 minutes before the accident, apart from the six group leaders, all the employees had left office.

The friends of the deceased complained that the management used to collect Rs 1.5 to 3 lakh from each job aspirant before joining the company. "Employees are promised a commission if they enlist two agents in the payroll. Members are first asked to pay an advance of Rs 30,0000 - 40,000 and then the remaining amount is taken in instalments. In return the company gifts us a watch and a dinner set. The cost of the watch is stated to be Rs 50,000 but its cost is not more than Rs 2,000. The employees have to sign a bond promising that they will not resign before completion of their tenure. If any employee wants to leave the job then the organisation will not return the security deposit ," a friend of one deceased said.

The organization has agents in almost all the districts of the state. It was learnt that the organization has branches in Secunderabad, Uppal, Madapur, Dilsukhnagar, and other places.

The current employees who have been trapped by the organisation complained that they were not getting their salaries or the commission that they were earlier assured. "I paid Rs 2 lakhs but have not received a single rupee salary in the last five months. My father is sending Rs 3,000 from home for my daily expenses'', said one employee.

The six persons who died were working as agents in the organisation for the last three years. They are from middle-class families and in some cases were the sole earning member of their families. One of the deceased, Pramila (22) enlisted her parents as agents after failing to get her friends to join. Pramila, the single child of Jatotu Bujji and Bhadru of Errakuntathanda Sureshnagar in Guduru Mandal of Mahabubabad District. Pramila went to Hyderabad to earn a living. She paid Rs 3 lakh to get a job in Qnet and enlisted her parents as agents. She had to borrow another 2 lakh that was paid by her parents to the company.

Banothu Padma and Narasimha, a poor tribal couple from Tekulathanda in Khanapuram of Warangal district had a daughter, Sravani (22) and a son Raju. The entire family migrated to Hyderabad last year. After completing her degree, Shravani joined Qnet on the recommendation of her friends by borrowing Rs 3 lakhs. The family has lost its earning member.

Another deceased, Vennela (22) was daughter of Vanga Lakshmi-Ravi of Marripalli, resident of Duggondi mandal of Warangal district. Ravi used to work as a labourer in Dasaripalli. Vennela did her BSc from Narsampeta. After completing her graduation, Vennela joined QNET two years back on recommendation from her relatives living in Bikkajipalli. Her parents lamented that the light of their lives has been snatched away.

Kuncham Rama Rao-Ramans of Surthepalli, Nelakondapalli Mandal in Khammam district have two daughters. Rama Rao is an auto driver and his wife Ramana is a laborer. Their elder daughter Triveni (22) completed her BTech in Kodada and joined Qnet. Then her sister Mamata was also enlisted in the organization two months back. Triveni's parents said she had told them that she does not want to get married until she is settled in life. She passed away without fulfilling her dream, her parents said. Her Sister Mamata said that they were hired after paying Rs. 1.5 lakhs. Triveni had warned of her over phone that they were in danger, her sister said.

Uppala Rajitha-Raju from Narsampeta mandal of Warangal district, are parents of Shiva (22) and Sindhu. Along with working as a mason, Raju farms on one and a half acres of land. Shiva completed B.Tech in Hyderabad and joined Qnet by paying Rs.1.5 lakhs. Raju had been sending Rs. 4,000 to Shiva every month when the commission or the salary were not paid. Shiva's younger sister Sindhu also joined Qnet last year and quit when she didn't get the salary. Shiva had promised to come home in Ugadi festival.

Deceased, Prashanth (23) was son of Upendra-Janardhan from Intikanne of Kesamudram mandal of Mahabubabad district. The family farms on three acres and brought up Prashanth with a lot of difficulty. After failing to clear the police constable preliminary examination, Prasanth joined Qnet. His parents had to pay Rs. 2.5 lakhs so they sold cotton at a low price and collected Rs. 50 thousand and borrowed another Rs.2 lakh. Prasanth lost his life in the accident after joining Qnet 25 days back.