On the run, immigration firm owner in cops' net

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 15

Sumit Kumar, the owner of Shine Visa Consultancy, who was booked by the Model Town police recently for running immigration business in the city without requisite documents and valid licence, has been arrested.

An FIR was registered against him under Section 420 of the IPC and Section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professionals (Regulation) Act 2014 on December 14. The Model Town police were on patrol at Model Town on the night of December 14 when they received a tip-off that Sumit, who is allegedly involved in duping people on the pretext of sending them abroad on tourist visa and work permit, was present at his office near Dera Satkartar.

Police officials raided both his offices based at Model Town and near BMC Chowk and seized a printer and two laptops. A passport and other documents, including a few visas, were also recovered.

As per sources in the police, Sumit was the right-hand of Ludhiana-based travel agent Nitish Ghai, who was arrested by CIA team of Jalandhar police in July. Nitish had over 125 FIRs registered against him across Punjab for allegedly duping youth on the pretext of sending them abroad.

Both Nitish and Sumit had allegedly amassed huge properties, charging the youth heavily on fake assurances of arranging work permits and immigration abroad. The city police will also be nominating Nitish in the FIR against Sumit.

Both of them used social media to publicize their business. Whenever any person used to contact them for visa-related query, they used to make fake assurances of sending them abroad even on 5 bands. A number of such victims, whom this correspondent contacted, said they paid lakhs of rupees to him for sending them to Canada, America and the UK either on study or work visas.

They said after receiving the amount, the employees working in his office never used to take their calls and even when they visited his office, they used to make one or the other excuse and ask them to visit again.

Model Town ACP Randhi Kumar, confirming his arrest said, he had duped a number of people from Punjab on the pretext of arranging study or work visas. He said the police are interrogating him over his involvement in more such cases, and the investigation is underway.

‘Aide’ of travel agent who faces 125 FIRs

Sources said accused Sumit Kumar was the right-hand of Ludhiana-based travel agent Nitish Ghai, who was arrested by CIA team of Jalandhar police in July. Nitish has over 125 FIRs registered against him across Punjab for allegedly duping youth on the pretext of sending them abroad.

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