Five immigration fraud cases registered in 24 hours in Ludhiana

Police lodged at least five FIRs on Sunday as part of their drive against fraudsters posing as travel agents. In most cases, residents had been duped of huge amounts on the pretext of securing travel visas abroad

Police lodged at least five FIRs on Sunday as part of their drive against fraudsters posing as travel agents. In most cases, residents had been duped of huge amounts on the pretext of securing travel visas abroad.

Police lodged at least five FIRs on Sunday as part of their drive against fraudsters posing as travel agents. In most cases, residents had been duped of huge amounts on the pretext of securing travel visas abroad. (HT File)

In the first case, Jatinder Singh, 40, of Dhandhra lost ₹3 lakh to an accused who offered help in securing a Canadian visa.

The complainant said he came in contact with the accused, Saalam Khan and his wife Nikki who worked as organisers for stage shows. The accused assured him a part in their stage shows, which, they claimed, often travelled abroad.

Lured by the offer, the complainant ended up paying the amount. Upon realising the fraud, he lodged a complaint with the police on December 27, 2021.

Investigating officer, sub inspector Hajoor Lal said the police, following an enquiry, lodged an FIR under sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (Criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Immigration Act at the Dugri police station.

In the second case, the Sadar police booked five Mohali residents for duping a city resident Balbir Singh, 60, of Guru Amar Das Nagar of ₹2.4 lakh.

The complainant said the accused had promised a visa to send his daughter Rajinder Kaur to Canada and also help secure permanent residency for her. The accused had taken ₹2.4 lakh from him, but failed to offer any help in the travel.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Major Singh, who is investigating the case, said the complainant had approached the police on November 25, 2021. After an enquiry, the police lodged an FIR against the accused Kulvir Singh, Riti Kaura, Beant Singh, Jagdev Singh, Karanaveer Singh of Mohali under sections of the IPC and Immigration Act.

A Phillaur resident, meanwhile, was also booked for duping Ashok Kumar of Pratap Singh Wala of ₹10 lakh.

The accused, Maninder Kumar, has allegedly offered to help senf the complainant’s son Rahul Raj to New Zealand on a work permit, but failed to do so even after receiving the full amount. PAU police lodged a case under sections the IPC and Immigration Act.

Further, Division number 5 police lodged two FIRs against fraudsters posing as travel agents.

Following the complaint of Sumesh Kumar of Haibowal Kalan, 61, police booked Inderjit Kaur, her husband Narinder Singh of Bhagwan Nagar, Gurdeep Singh of Munidya and Sukhwant Singh of Bhamian Khurd for fraud.

The complainant alleged that the accused took ₹7.88 lakh from him to send his daughter Alisha Passi to Canada, but failed to do so and did now retur the money.

In the fifth case, Gurdev Singh of Ferozepur sald the accused, Surjit Bawa, his wife Anu Bawa, Sahilpreet Singh and Raja Singh duped him of ₹13.42 lakh on the pretext of getting his family work permits in Canada.

Division number 5 police booked the accused for cheating and immigration fraud.