Kaithal police bust fake overseas job racket; rescue 5 youths from Libya

In a major breakthrough, the Kaithal police have busted a gang allegedly involved in kidnapping youth on the pretext of sending them to Canada.

A team of Special Detective Unit, Kaithal, solved a case of fraud and kidnapping related to fake overseas employment. The team members also played a key role in rescuing five youth, who had been held hostage in Libya and arresting one of the main accused, said Upasana, Superintendent of Police (SP) while interacting with media persons on Saturday.

She informed that the case came to light after a complaint by Suresh Kumar and Rambir of Fariyabad village and Krishan Kumar of Barsikri Khurd village, who wanted to send their sons — Aditya, Vikrant, and Sumit — abroad. The families had been introduced to Manjit, a resident of Gajuwala village, Fatehabad, who runs an IELTS/PTE centre in Tohana. Through him, they came in contact with Mann Singh, a resident of Sadhanawas village. He promised to send each youth to Canada for Rs 26 lakh.

On September 10, Singh took the youths to Dubai on the pretext of arranging their Canadian visas there. However, the next day, he took them to Libya, demanding 30,250 Dirhams from them for accommodation and food. Till September 29, the families were in contact with their sons. Later, a person named Ali contacted the victims’ families and demanded ransom, making repeated calls for money. A case was registered at Rajound Police Station, said the SP.

She said that the case was handed over to the Special Detective Unit. Acting promptly, unit in-charge sub-inspector Ramesh Chand and ASI Tarsem Singh, using technical and human intelligence and with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Embassy, and other agencies, managed to rescue all five youths safely from Libya.

The rescued youths include three from Kaithal and two from Ferozepur, Punjab — Gurjant Singh and Jasnapreet Singh. During the operation, the unit coordinated with Libyan intermediaries and the Indian Embassy to secure their release. Initially, the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs 3-5 crore from the families, who had already paid around Rs 60-70 lakh in total. With the joint efforts of the police team and family members, the youths were successfully rescued.

The three youths from Kaithal were safely received at Delhi Airport on October 23, while on October 24, the main accused Mann Singh was arrested near Gohana bypass, Sonepat.

Investigation revealed that Singh had colluded with his Pakistani associate Ali, taking all five victims to Libya via Dubai. To avoid suspicion, he even staged his own kidnapping, the SP said.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that Singh and Ali had been engaged in sending people illegally to the US through donkey routes since 2022. After facing financial losses of Rs 2-3 crore due to deportations, the duo began abducting and extorting money from Indian families on the pretext of foreign travel. The accused has been remanded to four days of police custody for further interrogation, she maintained.

SP Upasana has appealed to the public to verify the credentials of any agent or person before paying money for overseas employment and to report any suspicious activity immediately to the police.