E-Paper
Punjab-based travel agent held for arranging fake visa
Punjab travel agent arrested for arranging fake Guatemala visa; passenger caught with fake visa deported from Netherlands; investigation ongoing.
New Delhi
A Punjab-based travel agent was arrested on Sunday for allegedly arranging a fake Guatemala visa for a passenger, police said.
The accused, Dharampreet Singh (24) along with his associates had arranged a visa for a passenger identified as Gurjas Singh (27).
The passenger, who had arrived at the IGI Airport on July 23 as a deportee from the Netherlands, was refused boarding for Canada, as per the press release issued by the police.
During the scrutiny of his documents, Gurjas Singh was found to have affixed a fake visa to his passport.
An FIR has been filed against the passenger.
Further investigation into the case revealed that the passenger had only studied till Class 10 and wished to go abroad to earn a better livelihood.
The passenger had come into contact with Dharampreet, who is also his distant relative.
The agent, along with his partner, Sunny Mann, had suggested that Gurjas create a strong travel history for himself and promised to send him to the US after charging him ₹5 lakh.
Gurjas then travelled to Dubai and Malaysia based on his visa. He came in contact with another agent, Pawan, in Malaysia through Dhararmpreet, who had arranged his fake Guatemala visa, the police said.
While travelling to Canada via the Netherlands, the immigration staff caught hold of the fake visa and deported Gurjas back to Delhi, where he was handed over to the police.
Inspector Rajkumar Yadav of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport police, along with his team, nabbed the accused, Dharampreet, from his hideout in Punjab.
The investigation of the case is in progress to unearth the involvement of the other agents, scrutinise the bank accounts of the accused, and trace his possible involvement in other similar cases.
