Ludhiana: Travel agent thrashed over ‘deportation’, police hunt on for six

The accused have been identified as Jasveer Kaur, her aides Raju, Bunty (all residents of Mullanpur), along with Gurbaz Singh, Kamaljit Kaur and Meva Singh

A Mullanpur-based woman and her aides allegedly abducted and assaulted a travel agent after her nephew, whom the agent had sent to Russia on a visa, was “deported” from the airport. The accused allegedly lured the agent on the pretext of discussing another visa but instead abducted him, took him to Mullanpur and thrashed him, demanding a refund of ₹3 lakh which he had charged from her nephew.

According to the police, victim Lovinder Singh, a travel agent from New Azad Nagar, Bapu Market, Lohara, had arranged a Russian visa for Amritpal Singh, the nephew of Jasveer Kaur. He charged ₹3 lakh for visa processing and Amritpal flew to Russia. However, upon arrival at the Russian airport, he was deported to India, leading to a dispute over the money paid for the visa. (HT Photo)

The accused have been identified as Jasveer Kaur, her aides Raju, Bunty (all residents of Mullanpur), along with Gurbaz Singh, Kamaljit Kaur and Meva Singh. According to the police, victim Lovinder Singh, a travel agent from New Azad Nagar, Bapu Market, Lohara, had arranged a Russian visa for Amritpal Singh, the nephew of Jasveer Kaur. He charged ₹3 lakh for visa processing and Amritpal flew to Russia. However, upon arrival at the Russian airport, he was deported to India, leading to a dispute over the money paid for the visa.

Enraged over the deportation, Jasveer Kaur and her aides hatched a conspiracy to recover the money, the police said. She called Lovinder Singh near the Verka Milk Plant on Ferozepur Road, claiming that her husband was also planning to go abroad and needed visa assistance. However, as soon as Lovinder arrived, the accused forcibly abducted him, took him to Mullanpur and assaulted him, demanding that he return their money.

Inspector Neeraj Chaudhary, Sarabha Nagar SHO, said Lovinder Singh claimed Amritpal Singh returned to India on his own, while Amritpal insisted that he was deported by Russian airport authorities. This led to the demand for a refund.

The ordeal ended when Lovinder managed to contact a mutual acquaintance, who assured the kidnappers that the money would be returned. Following this, the accused released the victim, after which he immediately approached the Sarabha Nagar police and filed a complaint.

The SHO added that an FIR under Sections 140(3) (kidnapping), 191(3) (rioting with deadly weapons), 190 (unlawful assembly) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) has been registered against the accused.

A hunt is on for the arrest of the accused, the police said.