LUCKNOW, June 28 -- With the arrest of three men, the Lucknow crime branch on Sunday claimed to have busted a fake job racket operating through an illegal call centre in Vibhuti Khand. Those arrested allegedly cheated job seekers across the country by posing as human resource (HR) executives of reputed banks and companies.

According to officials, the accused were identified as Balram Tiwari, 25, of Hardoi, who allegedly managed the operation, Shailesh Kumar alias HR Shikhar Tripathi, 32, of Amethi, and Nitesh Sharma alias HR Ajit Singh, 24, of Deoria. Police said the latter two worked as callers impersonating human resource (HR) officials.

The accused purchased databases of unemployed candidates from job portals and other sources before...