Two Punjab-based agents have been arrested for facilitating the illegal travel of a man from Hong Kong to Delhi using the passport of another individual, an official on Thursday said.
The accused, identified as Neeraj Passi (41) and his brother Sunny alias Joginder Pal (37), were arrested from Amritsar in connection with a case involving Harpal Singh (28), the official said.
All three are residents of Amritsar, he added. The officials found discrepancies in Harpal Singh’s travel records during immigration clearance when he arrived at Delhi’s IGI Airport from Hong Kong on April 7 on an Emergency Certificate.
An Emergency Certificate (EC) is a one-way travel document primarily issued to the Indian citizens, who are abroad and need to return home urgently due to loss, damage or unavailability of their passport.
Singh departed for Hong Kong on February 29, 2016. An arrival entry was recorded in June 2016, but no departure record was found for his subsequent return to India earlier this month, indicating misuse of his passport by another individual, he added.
A case under relevant sections of the law was registered at the IGI Airport Police Station. Harpal revealed during interrogation that he had paid ₹2 lakh to an agent named Sunny, who promised to arrange his travel and employment in Hong Kong, the official said. The travel was facilitated with the help of Sunny’s brother Neeraj, who booked the flight tickets. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, Harpal handed over his passport to an associate of the agents and later began working there, he added. He also applied for asylum, which was eventually rejected in 2024. After overstaying illegally, he was deported by Hong Kong authorities and arrived in Delhi on an Emergency Certificate.
{{/usCountry}}A case under relevant sections of the law was registered at the IGI Airport Police Station. Harpal revealed during interrogation that he had paid ₹2 lakh to an agent named Sunny, who promised to arrange his travel and employment in Hong Kong, the official said. The travel was facilitated with the help of Sunny’s brother Neeraj, who booked the flight tickets. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, Harpal handed over his passport to an associate of the agents and later began working there, he added. He also applied for asylum, which was eventually rejected in 2024. After overstaying illegally, he was deported by Hong Kong authorities and arrived in Delhi on an Emergency Certificate.
{{/usCountry}}The same passport was then allegedly used by another individual to travel from Hong Kong to India, resulting in mismatched immigration records for Harpal Singh, police said.
Harpal was arrested following his deportation and a probe was launched to trace the agents behind the racket, they said.
He confessed to the crime during questioning and revealed that he had been working as a travel agent along with his brother Neeraj, duping people with promises of overseas employment. Neeraj was subsequently arrested on Sunny’s instance, police said.
An investigation is underway to identify other members of the syndicate and examine the financial transactions linked to the accused, they said.