Chandigarh: Two arrested for Rs 78-lakh visa scam

The UT police have arrested two interstate fraudsters, including one who was also involved in preparing fake passports for the accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, for duping a group of travellers of Rs 78 lakh.

A team from the Sector 34 police station arrested Harmeet Singh, alias Titu Chand (42), a resident of Kapurthala, Punjab. His questioning led the police to his accomplice, Arjit Kumar, alias Tony (58), of Rani Bagh, Delhi. The accused had prepared fake visa and dummy flight tickets to Greece.

The complainant, Manjeet Singh of Kaithal, Haryana, reported that in August 2022, he was contacted by Harmeet Singh, who claimed to run “Guru Tour and Travel” in Sector 34-A here. He promised to arrange travel to Greece for Manjeet, his brother, nephews and brother-in-law at a cost of Rs 10 lakh per person plus embassy charges. The complainant paid Harmeet Rs 78 lakh through various means, including Rs 5 lakh specifically meant for the “Delhi Embassy”.

On September 19, 2022, the group was denied departure at the airport by immigration officials who found the visa documents forged.

The investigations into the case revealed that both accused have a long criminal history across multiple states. Arjit, a graduate, was previously arrested by the Delhi police in a high-profile case. He was also involved in preparing fake passports for the accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, including Anmol Bishnoi and Sachin Thapan.

Harmeet has been implicated in at least five cases, mostly in Punjab, of cheating, forgery and violations of the Punjab Travel Professionals Regulation Act and Emigration Act. He is accused of preparing fake Aadhaar cards, passports, voter IDs, and other documents.