E-Paper
MBA grad running immigration racket lands in Panchkula police net
Accused of duping around 100 people from Punjab and Haryana on the pretext of sending them abroad, Sahil Sharma, 35, hailing from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, was nabbed from Jaipur on November 3
An MBA graduate, wanted in over 20 cases of immigration fraud, has been arrested by the Panchkula police, along with his two aides.
Accused of duping around 100 people from Punjab and Haryana on the pretext of sending them abroad, Sahil Sharma, 35, hailing from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, was nabbed from Jaipur on November 3.
The hunt started following a complaint by Panchkula resident Shivcharan Singh.
The complainant, who lives in Sector 32, told police that his son Gurvinder Singh was planning to move to Australia and came in Sahil’s contact through an acquaintance. The complainant said Sahil told him that he was an agent for overseas placements and demanded ₹14 lakh for the service. “The complainant transferred ₹5 lakh to his account and ₹9 lakh was paid in cash,” said ACP Vikram Nehra. Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at the Chandimandir police station under relevant sections of the BNS, and a probe was launched.
Sahil’s accomplice Paramjit Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib was the first to be arrested.
Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended him from Kharar on October 24. Singh, who had been operating under the fake identity of “Pradeep Singh” was remanded to seven-day custody, which was later extended by another six days. During interrogation, he revealed Sahil’s location, leading to his arrest. He was produced in court and sent to police custody till November 11.
Another gang member, Ramandeep Kaur of Yamunanagar, was also taken into custody through a production warrant.
According to police, the gang ran immigration consultancy offices in Ludhiana, Zirakpur and Yamunanagar.
Investigators said Sahil was facing 13 cases of immigration fraud in Yamunanagar, six in Shahkot (Jalandhar), two each in Zirakpur, Ferozepur and Ludhiana and one in Panchkula.
He has been declared a proclaimed offender in six cases in Punjab. His accomplices were also wanted in multiple cases — 13 in Yamunanagar, two in Zirakpur and one in Panchkula.
Investigations revealed that Sahil frequently changed locations and was using multiple mobile phones, along with SIM cards procured through fake identity. He was planning to expand his operations in Rajasthan to target more people.
Sahil, who operated under the aliases of Ajay Bhardwaj and Pradeep, was previously also arrested by Jalandhar police. But he was able to secure bail using the fake identify and absconded.
During the probe, it also came to fore that on June 10, Sahil duped around 80 people by giving them fake air tickets to Australia and calling them to the Delhi international airport, before disappearing.
Declined government teaching job in Punjab
According to investigators, the accused, Sahil Sharma, was appointed as a government teacher in Punjab, but he declined the job.
recovered 874 gm of gold and diamond jewellery worth ₹1.25 crore, ₹26.5 lakh in cash, 12 mobile phones, one laptop, 25 ATM cards, two passports and an SUV. More recoveries are expected during the ongoing remand.
e His gang was active across several states, including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. e Transactions in fake bank accounts linked to the gang were traced to victims from these states. e Police teams carried out raids using technical surveillance, intelligence inputs and CCTV footage to trace the accused.
○ Police further found that the accused had opened accounts in 7-8 banks using forged documents and obtained multiple SIM cards under fake identities. Officials also suspect possible collusion of some bank and telecom employees, as biometric verification norms were not followed.
