Pathankot police arrest travel agent for visa fraud

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, May 19

Continuing its run against fraudulent travel agents, the Pathankot police today arrested one Jasvir Singh who was involved in getting fake Argentina visas stamped on the passports of his clients after taking huge sums of money.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said Jasvir was arrested following the complaint of a victim that he had been duped. “The police got in touch with the Argentinian embassy in New Delhi through e-mail. We showed them the visa stamped on the passport of the victim. Within no time, they informed us that the visa was fake. We then decided to zero in on Jasvir. I have formed a special team which deals with sham travel agents. I assigned them this task too following which we stumbled on information that led us to as many as 25 more victims. All these people belong to the lower and middle strata of society,” said the SSP.

He added that Jasvir would promise them a hefty salary on arrival in Argentina.

The police, till now, have recovered 25 passports, six cheque books, seven ATM cards, two mobile phones, PAN cards, voter and Aadhar cards and a car. Investigations are still on to gauge the depth of the scandal.SSP Khakh said the accused had duped his victims to the tune of Rs 26 lakh. “He is a smooth talking individual and would sell dreams to his clients who would be impressed by his mannerisms,” said Khakh.

A case under Section 406, 420, 476, 468 and 471 of IPC has been registered against the accused at the Pathankot Sadar police station. “Charges have also been framed under the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2014, and Section 24 of the Immigration Act. Full credit should go to Gurpreet Kaur who heads the Economic Offences Wing. She worked earnestly to get to the bottom of the fraud. Right now, investigations are being conducted by Harpreet Kaur, SHO, Sadar police station,” said the SSP.

A police officer said Jasvir worked for sometime in Dubai and also with a Delhi-based travel agency. Later, he opened his own agency but did not complete the registration process which is mandatory before one can start a travel agency.

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