Panchkula police bust fake visa racket, arrest five suspects for Rs 48L fraud

The Anti-Immigration Fraud Unit of the Panchkula Police has busted an interstate racket allegedly issuing fake work visas and defrauding people seeking jobs abroad by arresting five accused. The development follows a complaint by a representative of WestAid Visa Solutions, Sector 14, Panchkula.

DCP Srishti Gupta said based on the complaint, an FIR was registered on July 22 under Sections 61, 316(2), 318(4), 336(3), 338 and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 24 of the Immigration Act. The complainant reported that last year local agents had connected their clients to accused Gurcharan Singh for work visas to Finland, Australia and Italy. Gurcharan claimed he held a valid work-permit licence. Representative Taranpreet Kaur allegedly gave him Rs 48.25 lakh along with the passports and documents of eight youths. Gurcharan allegedly gave fake flight dates in March and April, but no travel materialised. Later, under pressure from other agents, Taranpreet was forced to refund Rs 8 lakh to two clients. When she asked Gurcharan to return the money, he absconded.

The DCP said acting on technical inputs, Anti-Immigration Fraud Unit in-charge Yogvindra Singh and Investigating Officer ASI Sandeep, with support from Cyber Cell in-charge Ramu Swami, arrested Gurcharan from Nawanshahr on November 13. He was remanded in judicial custody after interrogation.

On November 25, the police arrested three more accused –Shahbaaz, alias Prajapati, alias Gaurang, of Maharashtra; Aniket, alias Rishi, alias Kartik, of Munger district, Bihar (currently living in Jaipur); and Anshu Kumar of Munger — from Paharganj, Delhi. The fifth accused, Ajay Sethi of Gannaur, Sonepat, was arrested from Samalkha, Panipat, on November 30.

Shahbaaz is a former national-level boxing player. These four accused are in police remand till December 5. It also emerged that the gang confined several youths to a Mumbai hotel for nearly a month under the pretext of arranging travel abroad. They had jointly opened an office in Jaipur to broaden their operations in Rajasthan.

DCP Gupta added that the recovery so far included eight mobile phones, one laptop, 40 passports from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, four Finnish TRC cards, six chequebooks, multiple forged seals, 10 ATM cards and over Rs 6.75 lakh in cash, along with the freezing of Rs 4 lakh in Gurcharan’s bank account.

Investigations have revealed that the gang frequently used false identities and that several members have criminal records. Six FIRs were registered against Gurcharan in Punjab, and four cases against Ajay Sethi in Delhi and Sonepat. Cases were also registered against Shahbaaz and Aniket in Sirsa. All cases involve visa-related frauds. Searches for additional members of the gang continue.

“The Panchkula Police have a clear stand against networks that exploit young people under the guise of overseas opportunities. Such criminals will not be spared,” said Sibash Kabiraj, Commissioner of Police, Panchkula, and Chairperson, Illegal Immigration Matters, Haryana.