Chennai, Nov 10 : Tamil Nadu police are continuing their efforts to apprehend people who are involved in cheating others on the pretext of providing jobs in state and central government organisations. Most of those cheated have lost money to the tune of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 35 lakhs, and in a few cases, up to Rs 75 lakhs were swindled from job seekers. Nandakumar, a mechanical engineering graduate from Madurai, was approached by a person who said that he was close to a former Chief Minister and took money during the previous AIADMK government promising him a job in a PSU attached with the state government. After more than two years of giving 25 lakhs to the man, Nandakumar was waiting even after the government changed. However, he decided to finally lodge a complaint with the Madurai police who immediately swung into action and arrested Periyaswamy who had never had any contact with the former Chief Minister and had used the money for himself. The accused was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Nandakumar told IANS: "I was under pressure from my family to get a government job after my mechanical engineering degree from a private engineering college at Namakkal. However getting a job is not easy and someone introduced me to this person and he told me that he had high connections and took money from me but nothing happened. After I lodged a complaint with the police, he was arrested and is now jailed. He could have cheated several other people similarly." The number of people approaching such touts to get a government job is increasing and now several agents have appeared in many parts of Tamil Nadu, especially in rural areas like Theni, Tirunelveli, Namakkal, Erode, and Vilupuram. The agents are taking advance money promising clerical and engineering jobs in public sector undertakings. Several people, according to police have been duped by these job racketeers and the police have warned people not to give money to such swindlers as the government gives jobs only after conducting Public Service Commission examinations. State police headquarters in a recent note said that in several cases, the accused are absconding and not available at their addresses and their phones have been switched off permanently. Some of the accused are not using mobile phones at all. Former AIADMK minister, O.S. Manian's assistant Sheshadri was arrested by the police for cheating people promising government jobs. Rani Elizabeth, wife of former legislator Parithi Illamvazhuthi, was also arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Sources in the police told IANS that more than 78 cases have been registered in the past five days and 90 people arrested in several districts of the state. /IANS