Punjab-based travel agent held at Delhi Airport for arranging fake visa
Jul 28, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 28 : A Punjab-based travel agent was arrested by Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport Police on Sunday for arranging a fake Guatemala visa for a passenger, police said
The accused, Dharampreet Singh (24) along with his associates had arranged a visa for a passenger identified as Gurjas Singh (27).
The passenger, who had arrived at the IGI airport on July 23 as a deportee from the Netherlands, was refused boarding for Canada, as per the press release issued by the Indira Gandhi Airport Police.
During the scrutiny of his documents, Gurjas Singh was found to have affixed a fake visa to his passport.
An FIR has been filed against the passenger.
Further investigation into the case revealed that the passenger had only studied until Class 10 and wished to go abroad to earn a better livelihood.
The passenger had come into contact with Dharampreet, who is also his distant relative.
The agent, along with his partner, Sunny Mann, had suggested that Gurjas create a strong travel history for himself and promised to send him to the USA after charging him Rs 5 lakh.
Gurjas then travelled to Dubai and Malaysia based on his visa. He had come into contact with another agent, Pawan in Malaysia, through Dhararmpreet, who had arranged his fake Guatemala visa.
Upon receiving the visa, the passenger had suspicions of a fake visa and contacted Dharampreet regarding the issue. The passenger was then taken to another agent, namely Karan Kapoor, who had arranged another visa for Canada after charging Rs. 5 lakh.
However, while travelling to Canada via the Netherlands, the Immigration staff caught hold of the fake visa and deported Gurjas Singh back to Delhi, where he was handed over to the police.
Several raids were conducted at possible hideouts of the head agents, Dharampreet and Sunny Mann, who managed to escape.
Assistant Training Officer (ATO) Inspector Rajkumar Yadav, along with his team, nabbed the accused, Dharampreet, from his hideout in Punjab.
The investigation of the case is in progress to unearth the involvement of the other agents, scrutinise the bank accounts of the accused, and trace his possible involvement in other similar cases.
IGI police issued appeals to passengers to procure their travel only through authorized agencies and beaware of fraudulent agents. Passengers have also been requested to ensure the authenticity of their agencies and verify their documents to avoid any legal complications and travel disruptions.
