Punjab travel agent faces 100 FIRs for duping youths

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 23

In a record of sorts, at least 100 FIRs have been registered against a travel and immigration agent, Nitish Ghai (30) of Sunder Nagar here. He has allegedly duped hundreds of gullible youths, yearning for greener pastures abroad.

Nearly 80 per cent of his victims belong to Punjab. The remaining are from Haryana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The Ludhiana police have so far filed challan against him in three cases.

Additional DCP Surendra Lamba, who led the investigation, told The Tribune, “This is the first time in the state that the police have registered 100 FIRs against any agent. More than 300 complaints of travel frauds are still pending against him. These too are likely to turn into FIRs.”Lamba said the accused was earning Rs 70 lakh to Rs 80 lakh per month. He used to give advertisements in newspapers, mostly vernaculars, and his ad budget ran in crores of rupees. He only had a licence for visa consultancy service, but was taking money for processing files for work permits and immigration as well, the ADCP said.

On the agent’s free run since 2015, Lamba said Ghai was working in an organised way. “He used to take just around Rs 25,000 each from people for work permits abroad. Then he would tell them that their visa had been rejected. Only a few among them would lodge a police complaint. He used to strike a compromise with them by paying Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 each,” the ADCP said.

“We are probing if any police official had connived with him, but no such case has come to the fore so far,” he said.

Vengadasalam of Perambalur in Tamil Nadhu, one of the complainants, said on behalf of over 200 daily wagers in his state, he had given Rs 10,000 each to the accused for Canadian work permit, but none got visa.

As per the police, over 12 properties in the name of Ghai and his family members, including brother Munish Ghai, have been identified. Their market value is said to be over Rs 20 crore. “Most of these assets have been acquired by him in the past three years. We have written to the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department for necessary action,” Lamba said. Sources said Ghai was fond of luxury cars and high life. His father and brother used to run a small-scale hosiery unit. He started his firm in 2015 and became a millionaire in a short time.

On May 25 this year, the police raided his offices. Blessing Consultancy at Samrala Chowk and V Visa at Model Town were registered in his name, while other companies — GGI Group near Gill Chowk, 99 Visa and Bright Solution Consultancy, both at Madhok Complex, Ghumar Mandi, were registered in the names of his aides Tajinder Singh and Ravinder Singh. He also had offices in Jalandhar, Nakodar, Phagwara, UP, Delhi and Ludhiana.

The police have also booked his wife Gurminder Kaur, brother Munish Ghai, brother-in-law Kulbhushan Sood and an employee, Gurmeet Kaur Asha.

Modus operandi 

• Nitish Ghai used to charge between Rs 25,000 and Rs 35,000 for work permits and immigration abroad. 
• He roped in three laboratories — Chaudhary Diagnostic Centre, Ludhiana, Fast Diagnostic Centre, Samrala Chowk, and Delhi Diagnostic Centre, Sector 44, Chandigarh — for medical examination of applicants.
• The staff at these laboratories collected blood and urine samples of applicants, but prepared no reports.
• Ghai told the police that he used to charge little amount so that people could bear the loss.

Exposed in May

• May 25, 2018: The police raid Nitish Ghai’s immigration offices in Ludhiana.
• May 26: Nearly 25 complainants from the different parts of Punjab meet Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana.
• July 7: Ghai arrested from Patiala. The police identify his properties and start attachment proceedings.
• Ghai is presently lodged in the Central Jail, Ludhiana.