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Pimpri-Chinchwad police bust visa racket, 4 held
During the search operation, police seized 67 passports, fake work orders of plumbers, welders and drivers from Brunei
The Pimpri Chinchwad police have busted a counterfeit visa racket, and arrested four suspects in the case . The operation revealed a scheme aimed at defrauding individuals seeking employment opportunities in Brunei and at least 200 victims had fallen prey to the scam, said police.
The accused have been identified as Vijay Pratap Singh (44), from Mamurdi and originally hails from Uttar Pradesh; Kisan Dev Pande (35) from Mamurdi and originally hails from Uttar Pradesh; Hemant Sitaram Patil (38) from Kiwale who originally hails from Dhule district and Kiran Arjun Raut (34) from Chinchwad.
On January 29, a 32-year-old architect and ten of his friends were duped in the scheme.
The Pimpri Chinchwad police, acting on intelligence, raided the office of the said company and arrested Singh, Pande and Patil.
During the office search, police seized 67 passports, fake work orders of plumbers, welders and drivers from Brunei.
Out of 67 passports, 48 were found to be fake stamps of government officials. Police also seized two laptops, a computer,seven mobile, fake stamps total worth ₹1.68 lakh.
The accused had decided to shut down the office within seven days and had plans to abscond, said police.
Assistant police inspector Ram Gomare said, “During interrogation of three accused, we came to know that Raut helped them to make fake stamps without verifying proper documents. Hence he arrested Raut and seized fake stamps, and others from his shop bases in Chinchwad.’’
Bapu Bangar, DCP (Zone 2) said, “The accused lured people by using fake work orders and assured them to provide a visa.’’
