Ludhiana: Brother-sister duo arrested for immigration fraud
The accused have been identified as Veenu Malhotra, 38, of Phase 1 Dugri, Ludhiana, and Amit Malhotra, 39, who run an immigration firm, Global way Immigration, near Ishmeet Chowk in Model Town
A woman and her brother have been arrested for allegedly duping several people on the pretext of sending them abroad.
The accused have been identified as Veenu Malhotra, 38, of Phase 1 Dugri, and Amit Malhotra, 39, who run an immigration firm, Global way Immigration, near Ishmeet Chowk in Model Town.
The duo was arrested after a woman cop deputed in the chief minister’s security filed a complaint that her brother and sister-in-law were duped of ₹14.3 lakh on the pretext of arranging UK visas for them.
The accused were arrested within two hours of lodging of the complaint. Around ₹1.07 crore cash was recovered from their possession, which police suspect, the accused had obtained through fraudulent activities.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, City 3) Shubham Aggarwal said the FIR was registered following a complaint by Ravneet Kaur of Mohali Phase 8, who is deputed in the CM’s security. The ADCP said that a case under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 24 of the Immigration Act has been registered at the Model Town police station.
Model Town SHO, sub-inspector Avneet Kaur said the accused used to win over people’s trust by stating that they will take their fee only after their Visas arrive, but later force them to shell out lakhs by claiming that their documents are incomplete.
The SHO said that more recovery is expected from the duo, and that the accused, Veenu, already faces three other cheating cases.
Earlier on August 12, Hardeep Singh of Dhuri of Sangrur and his wife Amandeep Kaur had climbed atop a water tank near Ishmeet Chowk accusing the same firm of duping them of ₹10 lakh. The complainant said the immigration firm had demanded ₹26 lakhs, with an advance payment of ₹10 lakhs to secure visas for them. They made a payment of ₹10 lakh via RTGS in February this year. However, the firm kept delaying the process, making excuses whenever they approached for updates on the visa. Later, the accused refused to refund the money.
A day after the incident, on August 13, the district administration cancelled the firm’s licence in wake of the multiple complaints.