Punjab: Travel agent held in fake UK visa case
The accused, identified as Amit Bhardwaj alias Gavi, a resident of Kotkapura city in Faridkot district, had assured the passenger to arrange his journey to the UK via UAE, with the help of his associates, for ₹12 lakhs, say officials
The Delhi Police has arrested a 35-year-old travel agent from Punjab in a case of arranging a fake UK visa for a passenger in 2022, an official said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Amit Bhardwaj alias Gavi, a resident of Kotkapura city in Faridkot district, had assured the passenger to arrange his journey to the UK via UAE, with the help of his associates, for ₹12 lakhs, the official said.
However, the plan fell through when the passenger, Anil, 25, from Haryana, was intercepted at the IGI Airport in Delhi during immigration clearance for Sharjah, UAE. Upon scrutiny, the visa affixed to his passport was found fake, prompting authorities to register a case on March 1, 2022, under relevant sections of the now-defunct IPC and the Passports Act.
A senior police officer said that Anil, during interrogation, revealed that he had paid ₹12 lakh to Bhardwaj and his associates for the UK visa and job opportunity.
According to police, Bhardwaj and two other agents, namely Karanjeet Singh and Gurmeet Singh, had arranged the fake visa.
Karanjeet and Gurmeet were arrested earlier in the case. Following their arrest, the name of Bhardwaj surfaced as the key middleman. Despite several attempts, he kept evading arrest, leading to non-bailable warrant proceedings against him.
Acting on a tip-off, police raided possible hideouts and succeeded in apprehending Bhardwaj from Punjab.
During questioning, he confessed to his involvement in the case. He disclosed that he is a graduate with a diploma in multimedia programming but turned to illegal visa facilitation after facing financial hardship. He admitted to receiving ₹2 lakh as commission for his role in the deal, police claimed.
The police said a probe was on.
