E-Paper
Ludhiana: Travel agent, aide held for duping ASI of ₹33 lakh in UK visa fraud
The ASI’s son and the woman who travelled with him are now reportedly stranded in the UK after their visas were cancelled when the promised university fees were not deposited.
The Ludhiana Rural Police have arrested a travel agent and his aide, a woman, for allegedly duping an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of ₹33 lakh and sending his son to the United Kingdom on a spouse visa using forged documents and a fake marriage arrangement. The ASI’s son and the woman who travelled with him are now reportedly stranded in the UK after their visas were cancelled when the promised university fees were not deposited.
The accused have been identified as Lakhbir Singh Sidhu, a travel agent from Mandi Mullanpur, and his aide Reena Rani of Abbuwal village in Sudhar. Another accomplice, Mahesh Kumar Verma of Hoshiarpur, remains at large.
Sudhar police have registered an FIR against the accused under Sections 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 340(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 24 of the Emigration Act, 1983.
According to the complaint lodged by ASI Manohar Lal, currently posted at Sudhar police station, his son had been aspiring to move abroad. The officer approached the accused travel agent to facilitate an Australian visa, but the application was rejected. Subsequently, the agent allegedly assured him that his son could instead be sent to the United Kingdom on a spouse visa. The accused introduced the family to a woman who had cleared the IELTS examination and proposed portraying the two as a married couple in official documents.
Police said the accused allegedly arranged a fabricated marriage certificate to present the duo as husband and wife. They also purportedly prepared a forged graduation degree for the woman to strengthen the visa application.
Deputy superintendent of police (Dakha) Varinder Singh Khosa said that after the duo reached the UK, the travel agent failed to deposit the required university fees, which resulted in cancellation of their visas.
“As a consequence, the ASI’s son and the woman are reportedly stranded in the UK and are currently living there as illegal immigrants,” the DSP said.
Police have arrested the two accused and launched further investigations into the alleged travel fraud racket. During the probe, several other victims approached the police with similar complaints, following which two additional FIRs have also been registered against the accused at Sudhar police station.
The DSP added that efforts are underway to apprehend the absconding accused and unearth the full extent of the network involved in the fraudulent immigration scheme.
