3 held for fake visa racket in Delhi

In a major crackdown, the Delhi Police have busted an interstate fake visa and overseas job racket that allegedly duped hundreds of job seekers with promises of lucrative employment in countries like Russia and Turkey.

Three persons were arrested with the seizure of five original passports of victims, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Salauddin Mansuri alias Haider Khan (a resident of Siwan, Bihar), Mohamamd Shahzad (Sahibabad, Ghaziabad), and Kaushar (Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh).

According to officials, the accused were part of a well-organised syndicate that lured victims through fake job offers and forged visa documents.

The operation was carried out after acting on specific intelligence about a fake visa network targeting job seekers.

A police team conducted sustained surveillance and ground verification in this regard..

Based on credible inputs, a raiding team was formed and a coordinated operation was executed near the NSP, Pitampura, where all three accused were apprehended, an official said.

Investigations revealed that the key accused, Salauddin Mansuri, posed as HR manager of a fictitious Kolkata-based firm named “Saba Enterprises”. The syndicate advertised high-paying overseas jobs on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, directing interested candidates to their pages, the officer mentioned.

The victims were told to courier their passports, which were then scanned. The accused allegedly created forged visa stamps for countries like Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan on these scanned copies. Fake job letters and tentative or already cancelled air tickets were also sent to the victims, along with fabricated online verification links to make the documents appear genuine, the cop added.

Once victims transferred money for visa processing and job placement, the accused would switch off their phones and disappear. The fraud came to light only when victims discovered that their original passports had no visa stamps and the flight tickets were invalid, he said.

The police said each accused had a defined role in the syndicate. Mansuri acted as the main contact and impersonated an HR manager. Kaushar was responsible for recruiting clients, collecting documents, and using fake SIM cards for communication. Shahzad brought in clients and coordinated financial transactions, fully aware of the fraudulent operation.

The investigation also revealed that the accused frequently changed locations and operated under different firm names across Kolkata, Gorakhpur, Noida and Patna to evade law.

During the operation, the police seized five original passports of victims, seven mobile phones containing fake visas, job letters and e-tickets, along with cash and multiple identification and debit cards. An Aadhaar card, in the fake name “Haider Khan”, was also seized.

A case was registered at the Crime Branch police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). All three accused were produced before a Rohini court, and the police secured seven days’ of custody of the accused for further interrogation.