Visa scam: Navy men used J&K’s conflict status to smuggle clients to South Korea

The two navy officers Vipin Dagar of lieutenant commander rank and Brahmajyoti Sharma of sub-lieutenant rank were the kingpins of the crime

The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) probing the South Korea visa racket case, in which five persons, including two Indian Navy personnel were arrested, learnt that the gang members sent unskilled labourers to South Korea and asked them to seek asylum alleging persecution and human rights violations in the ‘conflict-zone’ Jammu and Kashmir.

Visa racket: Navy officers used J&K’s ‘conflict-zone’ status to help aspirants seek refuge in South Korea

The two navy officers Vipin Dagar of lieutenant commander rank and Brahmajyoti Sharma of sub-lieutenant rank were the kingpins of the crime and were friends since school days in Jammu and Kashmir, said the police.

The probe revealed that the gang members sent more than 15 persons from J&K to South Korea on tourist visas obtained by submitting forged documents. Each person was charged either ₹10 lakh or more. Once they reached the country, the aspirants discarded their passports and sought refuge. They preferred staying there for four to five years as they could easily earn and save between ₹25 to ₹30 lakh which helped them improve their family’s living conditions in India, said an officer. “During the investigation, we also learnt that the South Korean government erases the data of asylum seekers every five years and therefore, if a person leaves the county and if they want to visit again, they can do so with ease, “ said an official.

Why South Korea?

Besides the obvious soft power of South Korea- K-pop groups such as BTS, K-dramas, film and cuisine- the gang members sold the country to the aspirants as a place where they could easily settle down and earn well. South Korea falls well under economically developed countries, although they are not alone in this regard in the region, where Japan frequently accepted refugees only dozens a year and Taiwan continues to lack an asylum law. The Korean government on the other hand supports living expenses for asylum seekers such as accommodation and education and also provides work opportunities. A senior officer said that the syndicate sent the labourers to the country for multiple reasons - though there is a serious issue of language, jobs are easily available there and the country offered not only job security and safety but also the minimum wages are fairly high there. As of January 1, 2024, the minimum wage in South Korea is 9,860 Korean Won (KRW) per hour, approximately ₹600 an hour.

Getting asylum for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir is easy there as it is a conflict zone. The aspirants sought asylum on humanitarian grounds claiming that they were not safe in India.

“There is a village named Suchetgarh in the Ranbir Singh Pora tehsil of Jammu district from where several people were sent to Korea. They work in the farming sector, do tailoring and several other jobs and earn well, said the officer, adding that even if they want to return to their own country, the South Korean government does not stop them and allow them to return without hassles.

Gang members

produced in court

The five accused, including Vipin Dagar and Brahmajyoti Sharma, were produced in the Esplanade court on Friday. Two of them were sent into judicial custody while Dagar, Jyoti and their associate Deepak Dogra’s police custody was extended to July 9 for further probe. The accused who were sent into judicial custody are identified as Simran Teji and Ravi Kumar.

Acting on a tip-off, the CIU first arrested Dagar in Mumbai on June 28 and after his interrogation, police arrested the mastermind of the syndicate Brahamjyoti from Lonavala as well as three civilians, Teji from Pune, Ravi Kumar and Deepak Dogra from Jammu and Kashmir on June 30.

Police sought an extension of the accused’s police custody for four days requesting court that they be required to confront all the accused together in connection with passports, visas and other documents found during the investigation. Dagar’s defence lawyer advocate Ravi Jadhav argued that his client was falsely implicated in the case as there is no documentary evidence against him. So custodial interrogation was not required so grant him in judicial custody.

Deepak Dogra’s advocate Ajay Dubey submitted before the court that, “There is unemployment in J&K and therefore Dogra was only helping people who wanted to go abroad to earn money. His client has no role in the crime and police have not found any material from him. Dogra has not forged any documents. So, no police custody is required and grant judicial custody”. The police seized multiple mobile phones, laptops, sim cards, pen drives, multiple debit cards, documents and 108 forged rubber stamps, a machine used to make rubber stamps by the arrested accused.

How the racket started

Dogra and Braham Jyoti have known each other since childhood. Dogra went to South Korea before 2017 on a tourist visa and stayed there for more than three years and he saved more than ₹20 lakh. He returned to India in 2020 and around two years ago he thought that he could earn money by sending people to the country. He looked for people who were ready to pay large sums to live the ‘Korean dream’. He then discussed the idea with Braham and asked him to help in the racket to clear the visa by influencing consulate people as he is a navy official. Braham then involved his colleague Vipin who was posted in Visakhapatnam, the crime branch officer said.

They initially applied for a visa for the candidate in the Chennai consulate and Vipin Kumar used to visit the consulate in Navy uniform to follow up on the visa. During interrogation, it was learnt that Brahmajyoti became the mastermind and started instructing Dogra whose job was to monitor the operations and identify potential targets who wanted to go to Korea.

The Indian Navy also issued a statement and said they will fully cooperate with the law enforcement agencies.