Travel agency dupes residents of Rs40 lakh, accused at large

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 19

A travel agency has duped residents of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of sending them abroad. Ironically, GBDS Overseas Tourist and Study Visa, located at Deep Complex on the court road, did not possess licence, an investigation revealed.

The Civil Lines police have booked the owner, Gurpreet Singh, on the complaint of Ramesh Kumar, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. He said Gurpreet duped many persons of Rs 40 lakhs on the pretext sending them to Canada, New Zealand and other countries. Ramesh said he had borrowed money from his friends and relatives to pay to Gurpreet around two years ago but he did not keep his promise. He said his relatives started harassing him for money.

A case under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of the IPC and Section 13 of Prevention of Human Smuggling Act was registered at the Civil Lines police station on Wednesday.

The investigation carried out by economic offence wing revealed that Gurpreet Singh defrauded Barjinder Parshad, Mukesh Rajbar, Ashok Kumar, Dinesh Yadav, Amardeep Kamboj, Rajan Kumar, Surinder Kumar, Prabhdayal Singh, Pankaj Kumar, Pawan Kumar and Pawan Singh of Rs 40 lakh. The accused issued fake visas and tickets to the victims.

The Civil Lines police said that the accused was absconding and raids were on to arrest him.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Lakhbir Singh said residents should verify the antecedents of such agencies before giving them their hard earned money. The district administration has issued the lists of agencies having valid licences.