SIT registers five more FIRs; two travel agents held

Continuing its crackdown on fraudulent immigration consultants exploiting innocent individuals, the special investigation team (SIT) of the Punjab Police, headed by ADGP, NRI Affairs, Praveen Sinha has registered five new FIRs against travel agents and arrested two more fraudulent travel agents.

With this, the total number of FIRs reached to 15, while, arrest count has reached to three. The FIRs were filed against agents who allegedly deceived victims with false promises of facilitating illegal entry into the US, resulting in their deportation.

The latest FIRs were registered in Tarn Taran, SAS Nagar, Moga and Sangrur, in the past two days.

As per an FIR registered at Patti police station in Tarn Taran, an agent, operating from Chandigarh and Yamuna Nagar, fraudulently took Rs 44 lakh from a victim under the pretence of legal immigration to the US, but instead routed him through Nicaragua and Mexico. In another FIR registered at Majri police station in SAS Nagar, two agents Mukul and Gurjinder Antaal took Rs 45 lakh from a person and sent him via Colombia and Mexico.

Similarly, Sukhwinder Singh, Talwinder Singh, Pritam Kaur and Gurpreet Singh and members of Ekam Travels, Chandigarh, who lured a victim with a false work permit and direct US flight, for Rs 45 lakh have been booked at the Dharamkot police station in Moga.

The fourth FIR was registered at Khanauri police station in Sangrur against a visa and travel company operated by Angrej Singh and Jagjit Singh from Haryana, who duped a victim of Rs 50 lakh.

The fifth was registered at Goindwal Sahib police station against agent Goldy, operating near IGI Airport, Delhi, who deceived a person into paying Rs 45 lakh for a legal entry into the US.

Angrej Singh and Jagjit Singh have been arrested by the Sangrur police.

One booked in Amritsar

The Amritsar police on Wednesday registered an FIR against an immigration agent who operated from Haryana. Arsh Kahlon, a resident of Ajnala and operating from the neighbouring state, was booked on the complaint of 22-year-old Harpreet Singh of Chhota Ghanshampura village here.

Harpreet was among the 117 illegal immigrants, who were sent back by the US on a military plane that landed at the Amritsar airport on February 15.