Kasaragod: Around 11 am on February 22, 2024, the postman from Kumbla sub-post office delivered a postcard to Ramisath K's house in Koipady village in Kasaragod district. She had been waiting for it for months — the postcard was an interview call for a teaching job at Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2 at Vidyanagar in Kasaragod. But as she read the handwritten card, her heart sank. The interview was scheduled for 9.30 am that same day.

Panicked, Ramisath* (name changed on request) called her friend and DYFI leader Sachitha Rai, who arranged the interview after taking Rs 5 lakh from her. She wanted to rush to the school, 30 minutes away, but Rai calmed her down, claiming she would speak to the school and arrange another date. Rai blamed the delay in sending the postcard from Delhi. But the second interview never came.

On February 23, Akshaya N* from Badiadka grama panchayat received a similar postcard about an interview for a clerical job at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), a Union government-run research centre. He was crushed when the card, written in the same handwriting, revealed that the interview was scheduled at 9.30 am on February 22 at the Employment Exchange Centre at Hubballi in Karnataka. Akshaya's sister Rajashree N*, called her friend Sachitha Rai, who took Rs 5 lakh from her to fix the interview. Rai promised to set up another interview. She never kept her word.

Amitha K* from Badiadka, who paid Rai Rs 15.41 lakh for either a teaching position at Kendriya Vidyalaya or a clerical role at CPCRI, never received a postcard, despite Rai's assurance that it was sent from Delhi.

Frustrated, Amitha filed a complaint with the post office about the missing interview card. The Department of Post conducted an inquiry, sent officials to her house, and even wrote to the ministry to track the postcard. "They found out that there was no such postcard," Amitha revealed.

However, they never suspected Sachitha Rai of any wrongdoing. They trusted her not just because she was a teacher at a government-aided lower primary school at Badoor in Puthige grama panchayat and a popular DYFI leader. The four women were also batchmates when they did their Diploma in Education (DEd), formerly known as the Teachers' Training Course (TTC) at the District Institute for Education and Training (DIET) at Maipady in 2014-2016.

"Sachitha attended my son's first birthday party and mediated when our marriage faced difficulties. We were close and had no reason to suspect her," Rajashree said.

But their world came crashing down on October 6 when Kumbla police booked Sachitha Rai for cheating, following a complaint from Nishmitha Shetty (24), a native of Kidhur village. Between May 31 and August 23, 2023, Rai received Rs 15.06 lakh from Shetty via bank transfer and GPay, on the promise of a clerical job at CPCRI. "We approached the police after exhausting all efforts to recover our money," said Lokesh Shetty, Nishmitha's husband, who works abroad. "We took the matter to the CPM, the Education Department, and even her family. Our party chided us for giving her money. Her headmaster revealed that she had cheated many people. That’s when we decided to go to the police to put an end to her cheating spree."

Cases pile up, bail denied
Following the first case, Sachitha Rai's victims began to connect and formed WhatsApp groups to share their experiences. What emerged was a disturbing pattern: she had gone to elaborate lengths to swindle money from those closest to her — friends, college mates, community members, and party comrades. In every instance, it was she who initiated contact, promising government jobs for her victims or their spouses, only to exploit their desperation.

To date, eight FIRs have been registered against Sachitha in Badiadka, Kumbla, Kasaragod and Manjeshwar police stations in Kasaragod district, and Uppinangady police station in Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka. Cases have been registered for cheating and dishonestly inducing someone to deliver property under Section 318 (4) of BNS and Section 420 of IPC.

"She approached around 30 of her 40 batchmates and immediate juniors, offering jobs for money. Seven fell in her trap," said Nadiya Fathima* of Mogral Puthur, who lost Rs 1.4 lakh after she was promised a teaching job in Kendriya Vidyalaya. Kasaragod Police have registered an FIR on her complaint.

Sachitha, from Shenni village in Kasaragod's Enmakaje grama panchayat, and her husband Jibin say she is also a victim, claiming she was cheated by Chandrasekhar Kuntar, a placement service provider in Udupi. "My wife fell into a big pit trying to help others," Jibin said, apparently oblivious to the illegality of accepting money for government jobs.

The CPM, which did not help the victims recover their money, expelled Sachitha from the party after the first case was filed. In a statement, the CPM Kumbla Area Committee hinted that she might have links to the BJP in Karnataka.

The DYFI, CPM's youth wing, removed her from its Kasaragod District Committee just 10 days before the first complaint.

Following the first case, Sachitha sought anticipatory bail from the Kasaragod Sessions Court, which directed police not to arrest her until the petition was resolved. During the hearing on October 16, she said she was the mother to a two-month-old child. The court rejected her petition, likely because multiple cases were registered against her. Police have yet to question her.

Faked pledging gold, wrote interview letters
Nadiya Fathima, now teaching at a private school, said that Sachitha contacted her in September 2023, asking if she required a job in Kendriya Vidyalaya. "She said my life would change if I had a regular job. But I did not have the money she was asking for," said Fathima. "Sachitha asked me if I had jewellery to pledge. I said no."

Later, Sachitha sent a photo of a receipt for Rs 1 lakh, claiming she had pledged her own gold to help Fathima secure the job. Moved by Sachitha's supposed kindness, Fathima raised Rs 1.10 lakh and handed it over to her, followed by an additional Rs 30,000. "She promised me a job in December. In May this year, she said elections were the reason for the delay. By October, everything fell apart," Fathima said. "I can’t even bring myself to tell my family how I lost the money."

After Sachitha was booked by Kumbla police in October, Nadiya Fathima, Amitha, and Ramisath took it upon themselves to dig deeper. They went to the Kendriya Vidyalaya at Vidyanagar to check the status of Ramisath's job application. They were told there was no job interview held on February 22 as Sachitha claimed. The young women were not surprised.

They checked the postcards and realised that the letter started with "Dear Ramisath*", which they found unusual now and the English was poorly written. More importantly, the letter was signed by Chandrasekhar, the alleged tout and it was posted from Kasaragod, not Delhi as Sachitha had claimed, or Udupi, where Chandrasekhar Kuntar's office is located.

At Kasaragod Head Post Office, they discovered the postcard had been dropped in a local postbox late in the evening on February 21. "The official told us they have CCTV footage, and it can be shared with the police if requested," said Nadiya Fathima.

Importantly, they said the handwriting on the postcard was eerily similar to Sachitha's.

Amitha said she started giving money to Sachitha on January 4, 2023. Initially, the demand was for Rs 8 lakh and the promise was a teaching job in Kendriya Vidyalaya by September. She ended up paying Rs 15.41 lakh. In May, Amitha gave birth to a premature child with medical complications. In September, she did not get the job. When Amitha confronted her, Sachitha claimed she had also duped by Chandrasekhar, who disappeared with all the money.

After Amitha shared the medical records and bills of her child, Sachitha's husband returned Rs 5.70 lakh in several tranches. Sachitha still owes Amitha Rs 9.71 lakh.

Despite claiming in September 2023 that Chandrasekhar had defrauded her, Sachitha continued to collect money from jobseekers in 2024 in his name. Mokshith Shetty (28), a motor winder from Manjeshwar, said she offered him a job in Karnataka's Excise Department. "I paid her Rs 1 lakh because we worked together in the DYFI," he said.

Malesh B S (34), a CPM member from Badoor, gave Sachitha the same amount for the same job. "We weren’t just party comrades; she was also my son's teacher. I trusted her," Malesh said. When Sachitha demanded more money, he refused, saying he'd pay the rest after securing the job. After Nishmitha filed the complaint, he too approached Badiadka police. Mokshith Shetty's FIR is registered with Manjeshwar police.

Sachitha's husband admitted to calling Malesh, asking him not to press charges and promising to return the money. "But Malesh wouldn’t listen. I think the BJP is behind these complaints," Jibin added.

Badiadka police registered a third FIR against Sachitha after Kumari Supritha* of Delampady panchayat lost Rs 7.32 lakh to the job scam. She too was her batchmate.

Shruthi* of Ballambettu in Badiadka panchayat gave Sachitha Rs 2.5 lakh for a teaching job in Kendriya Vidyalaya. Shruthi worked as a teacher on a daily wage in Sachitha's school.

Rashmika*, now residing at Kidhur village in Kumbla, said that she paid Rs 13.12 lakh for a clerical job at the State Bank of India. Her case is registered at the Uppinangady police station in Dakshina Kannada because the money was transferred from her home branch there. Almost all the victims made their payments to Sachitha via UPI or bank transfers.

Police officers investigating the complaints against Sachitha said that over Rs 2 crore had flowed into her bank accounts from various jobseekers. "We haven't summoned her for questioning yet as she is seeking anticipatory bail from the High Court after the Sessions Court rejected her petition. Once the High Court makes a decision, we will call her in," said a Station House Officer.