Ghai’s property to be attached

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2

What may be termed as a rare development ever in investigations against illegal travel agents and immigration firms, the Ludhiana Commissionerate is set to attach the property worth several crores of a notorious travel agent, Nitish Ghai. The commissionerate is also writing to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (IT) Department, suspecting that the accused had amassed a huge wealth worth crores by looting gullible persons seeking greener pastures abroad.

The investigating is being conducted by Additional DCP, Special Branch, Surendra Lamba. It was learnt that the police had collected the details of over a dozen prime properties of Ghai, the market value of which is over Rs 20 crore (a guessed by the police). Interestingly, these properties exist in Ludhiana only. Now, the police have been trying to identify the properties of Ghai and his kin bought in other states.

According to the property details gathered by the police so far (a copy with The Tribune), more than a dozen properties in the name of Ghai and his family members, including brother Munish Ghai, have been identified. A senior police official said the value of the properties as per the government rates may be in crores, but their present market value can be over Rs 20 crore.

"This property worth crores has been amassed by the agent in the past over three years. The accused had duped hundreds of innocents on the pretext of sending them abroad. Apart from more than 30 FIRs of travel and immigration frauds registered at various police stations against Nitish Ghai, 30 more FIRs in which investigation is at a final stage, will be registered anytime. Not only this, there are around 600 more travel fraud complaints pending with the police and investigation is under way in these, and these complaints may also turn into FIRs," Lamba told The Tribune.

Lamba said even if any property was bought in the name of his relatives by the accused, the same could also be attached as per the provision of law.

The police to pursue for compensation to victims

Surendra Lamba said law also had a provision that the victims duped by travel agent Ghai can get compensation from the court. “If the court orders compensation to the victims, that does not mean the ongoing FIRs stand cancelled. These cases will continue to run in the court till conviction of the agent,” he asserted.

To write to ED, IT Department over disproportionate assets

ADCP Lamba confirmed that agent Ghai had amassed a huge wealth by looting gullible persons and reportedly invested that income in buying properties worth crores. The police are going to write to the Enforcement Directorate and the IT Department to probe the possession of disproportionate assets by the accused agent. He said raids were still on to nab Ghai.