No pre-arrest bail to man booked for using fake docs to obtain US visa

When the consulate inquired with the shipping companies about Singh’s appointment, they replied in negative

Mumbai: A sessions court on Thursday rejected anticipatory bail plea of a Haryana resident, booked for allegedly using forged documents to obtain a US visa. Additional sessions judge MG Deshpande rejected the pre-arrest bail plea of Ravinder Kohar, 30, a resident of Karnal in Haryana. The court refused to grant him relief on the ground that his custodial interrogation of the applicant is necessary to find out the truth.

The court, however, said all this can be considered at the time of the trial and not at the pre-trial stage while considering pre-arrest bail plea (Stock Pic)

On October 13, 2021, assistant regional security officer at the American consulate in Bandra Kurla Complex had found that one Jitendra Singh who was called for visa interview had produced an appointment letter of Metterya Marine and Shipping Services Pvt. Ltd. and documents from Selat Marine Services Co. Ltd (UAE), training certificate of Ganpat University, U V Patel College of Engineering Department of Engineering, CDC and passport.

When the consulate inquired with the shipping companies about Singh’s appointment, they replied in negative. After which Singh was questioned. He told interrogators that he had paid ₹50,000 to visa agent Kohar to get the fake documents prepared. Singh was then taken into custody by the police after a case was registered for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy on the complaint of a security officer of the US Consulate.

He was asked by Avinash Singh to do an online course in merchant shipping, which will enable him to qualify for obtaining US work visa. He paid for the course and even gave some examination online, however later he learnt that it was all fake. He had just introduced Avinash to Jeetendra and Jeetendra made him a scapegoat and falsely named him as the visa agent. Kohar had also claimed that he comes from a reputed and financially well-off family. The court, however, said all this can be considered at the time of the trial and not at the pre-trial stage while considering pre-arrest bail plea.