3 held in Rs 43L immigration fraud

Three individuals have been arrested in connection with an immigration fraud case, in which a man was allegedly cheated out of Rs 43 lakh under the guise of being sent to America. During the police remand, authorities recovered Rs 31 lakh from the accused.

ACP Headquarters Vikram Nehra and ASI Deepak, Investigating Officer of the Anti-Immigration Fraud Unit, disclosed the arrests during a press conference at the unit’s office in Sector 1, here. The unit, formed in November last year, aims to tackle immigration fraud and has already arrested several fake agents.

The case came to light after Virendra Kumar, a resident of Chandimandir Cantt, filed a complaint with the police. Kumar said he met an agent named Pankaj from Kurukshetra through a friend. He said the agent promised to send him to America on a tourist visa, which would later be converted into a work visa. Kumar and his family paid a total of Rs 43 lakh in several instalments.

Further investigation revealed, rather than sending him directly to America, the accused made Kumar travel through various countries including Dubai, Bahrain, Turkey, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. On January 21, Kumar was abandoned at the Mexico-America border, where he was apprehended by American authorities on January 25. He was eventually deported to India on February 13. During this period, he was allegedly held hostage and forced to work.

Based on Kumar’s complaint, a case was registered at the Chandimandir police station under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Immigration Act. The police arrested Satyam from Ambala Cantt, Saurav Jindal from Zirakpur and Gaurav Jain from Ambala Cantt. The accused were presented in court on February 21, where Satyam and Saurav were granted a one-day police remand and Gaurav Jain a six-day remand. During questioning, police recovered Rs 31 lakh from the accused.

After the remand period, Satyam and Saurav were sent to judicial custody. ACP Vikram Nehra advised the public to be cautious when dealing with immigration agents, urging them to use only registered and authorised agents. He highlighted there are only two registered immigration agencies in Panchkula — World Pedal in Sector 12 and G & G Skills Developers Pvt Ltd. He also recommended that people check the validity of registered agents on the official government website (www.emigrate.gov.in).

For further information or to report complaints, Nehra urged the public to contact the complaint branch of DCP Panchkula or the Anti-Immigration Fraud Unit in Panchkula.