Latest news with #EmigrationAct
Hindustan Times
08-08-2025
- Hindustan Times
Duo held in ₹78-L immigration scam, Moose Wala murder link surfaces
Probing a ₹78-lakh immigration fraud, Chandigarh Police have arrested two men with a history of preparing fake passports, including those for conspirators in the 2022 Sidhu Moose Wala murder case. Probing a ₹ 78-lakh immigration fraud, Chandigarh Police have arrested two men with a history of preparing fake passports, including those for conspirators in the 2022 Sidhu Moose Wala murder case. (Representational image) Including the ₹78-lakh scam with a Kaithal family in 2024, the duo has duped multiple individuals of over ₹1 crore on the pretext of arranging international travel through forged documents, said police. The accused include Harmeet Singh, alias Titu Chand, 42, a resident of Baba Naam Dev Colony, Kapurthala, Punjab, andArjit Kumar, alias Ajit, 58, a resident of Rani Bagh, North West Delhi, who was arrested following Harmeet's disclosure. Their arrest stems from an FIR registered at the Sector-34 police station in May 2024 under Sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 24 of the Emigration Act. The complainant, Manjeet Singh, a resident of Sanch village in Kaithal, Haryana, had reported that he and his family members were duped by Harmeet, who posed as a travel agent operating under the name 'Guru Tour and Travel' at SCO 148, Sector 34-A. Manjeet alleged that Harmeet offered Greece visas at ₹10 lakh per person (excluding embassy charges) in August 2022. Following this, they paid a total of ₹78 lakh through multiple transactions. Visas and air tickets for Greece were issued. But when they reached the airport on September 19, 2022, to board the flight, immigration authorities flagged the documents as forged and denied departure. Despite multiple attempts to recover the money, Manjeet alleged that Harmeet kept giving false assurances and threatened him. He also submitted a recorded phone call of Harmeet threatening him with physical assault. The accused vacated the Sector-34 office as well. Forged passports for two key murder conspirators According to police, both accused are linked to the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case, as they created fake passports for Anmol Bishnoi and Sachin Thapan, two key conspirators. Not just passports and visas, they also forged Aadhaar cards, voter IDs and educational certificates. Luring people with assured international travel, they would vanish after taking large payments. Arjit was earlier arrested by Delhi Police's Special Cell under charges of forgery and Arms Act violations. He is named in eight previous FIRs, including forgery, criminal conspiracy, and passport fraud across Delhi and Haryana. He was currently out on bail. Harmeet is also an accused in five cases across Punjab and Chandigarh, related to cheating, forgery and illegal immigration under IPC and the Punjab Travel Professionals (Regulation) Act. He was previously arrested in Tarn Taran, Nawanshahr and Jalandhar.
Indian Express
07-08-2025
- Indian Express
Two who orchestrated immigration fraud racket arrested; earlier aided conspirators in Moosewala murder case too
The Chandigarh Police has claimed to have arrested two notorious international immigration fraudsters who were allegedly involved in preparing fake travel documents for individuals, including conspirators in the high-profile Sidhu Moosewala murder case. The arrested accused have been identified as Harmeet Singh, alias Titu Chand, a 42-year-old resident of Kapurthala, Punjab, and Arjit Kumar, alias Ajit, Tony, or Paji, a 58-year-old resident of Rani Bagh in Delhi. Police said that the accused are believed to have orchestrated a vast immigration fraud racket, duping scores of unsuspecting individuals by promising to send them abroad through forged travel documents. Police investigations revealed that both were involved in creating fake passports, visas, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and educational certificates. Notably, Arjit had previously been arrested by the Delhi Special Cell for preparing fake passports for Anmol Bishnoi and Sachin Thapan — both alleged conspirators in the Moosewala murder case — and currently out on bail in that matter. According to the police, the fraudsters operated under the guise of legitimate travel agents and lured clients with attractive foreign visa packages. They charged exorbitant fees and provided counterfeit visas and dummy tickets to the victims. Once the fraud was discovered, the accused disappeared and began threatening victims who sought refunds. The present case came to light following a complaint lodged by Manjeet Singh, a resident of Kaithal, Haryana. In May 2024, an FIR was registered at Sector 34 police station in Chandigarh. According to the complaint, Manjeet was contacted in August 2022 by Harmeet Singh, who ran a firm named Guru Tour and Travel in Sector 34-A. Harmeet promised Greece visas for Rs 10 lakh per person. Manjeet and his relatives ended up paying over Rs 1 crore through various transactions to Harmeet, Arjit, and their associates. On September 19, 2022, the group was stopped at the airport when immigration authorities flagged their visas as fake. The accused had by then abandoned their office and became untraceable, later issuing threats to prevent any legal action. The police revealed that Harmeet Singh from Kapurthala has studied till class 8 and previously been booked in multiple cases involving fraud and immigration scams, including violations under the Punjab Travel Professionals Act. His accomplice, Arjit, is a graduate from Delhi and has a lengthy criminal history, with at least eight FIRs against him across Delhi and Haryana under various serious sections of IPC, the Emigration Act, the Passport Act, and the Arms Act. The Chandigarh Police stated that the investigation is still underway, and further arrests are likely as more details emerge.
Hindustan Times
25-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Fake immigration firm busted in Mohali, 4 held
Four individuals involved in running a bogus immigration consultancy firm in Phase 7 of Mohali have been arrested by Mataur police. Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid on the AVM Global Immigration Consultancy on Wednesday night. Police said that the firm operating illegally for the past four years failed to produce any valid accreditation or licence from immigration authorities. A case has been registered against the accused under Section 318(4) (cheating) of the BNS and Section 24 of the Emigration Act. (HT photo for representation) According to police officials, several fake documents and files were seized during the raid operation and investigations are underway to identify the number of individuals defrauded by the consultancy and the amount of money collected from visa aspirants. The operation was led by ASI Sheespal Singh. Four arrested individuals have been identified as Amandeep Singh, a resident of Bhago Majra, Mohali, Pawan Kumar and Mansi, both residents of Sector 69 and Simran, a resident of Dehradun. Police said that all four were involved in the operations of the consultancy and allegedly played roles in duping clients with false promises of overseas jobs and visas. 'The firm has been operating without a valid immigration licence for nearly four years. It was offering fake promises of study visas and PR to countries like Canada and Australia in exchange for hefty payments,' said a police official. A case has been registered against the accused under Section 318(4) (cheating) of the BNS and Section 24 of the Emigration Act.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Time of India
Punjab DCs told to ask travel agents to declare they've nothing to do with jobs abroad
1 2 Chandigarh: Deputy commissioners across Punjab have been asked to obtain a monthly self-declaration form from travel agents registered under Punjab Travel Professionals' Regulation (PTPR) Act in their respective districts, announcing that they do no engage in any services offering overseas employment. In the form, agencies are mandated to declare that they do not engage in any recruitment-related services such as work visas, work permits, employment visas and others, for overseas employment without the necessary registration or permit as required under the Emigration Act, 1983. The Punjab home department, in the June 20 advisory to all DCs and senior superintendents of police/commissioners of police, asked the officials to "monitor activities of travel agents, especially on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp". The advisory was issued over the violation of the Emigration Act, 1983, by PTPR licence holders. The advisory was necessitated after Punjab received communications from the protector general of emigrants, New Delhi, and the protector of emigrants, Chandigarh, ministry of external affairs. These communications highlighted that "numerous travel agents registered under the PTPR Act, 2012, are reportedly engaged in activities that contravene provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983". DCs are the competent authority under PTPR Act for maintaining monthly self-declaration forms from all PTPR-licensed travel agents in their respective districts regarding their advertising and publicity practices. Section 7 of the PTPR Act mandates that all registered travel agents will furnish the complete details of their ads to the competent authority with regard to their profession or to hold seminars in respect thereof. Pointing out that the PTPR Act "explicitly excludes activities related to recruitment for overseas employment, as governed by the Emigration Act", the advisory noted: "However, it has been observed that certain PTPR-licensed travel agents are advertising employment and work visa opportunities for foreign countries; assisting individuals with 'work permits', 'employment visas', and other job-related travel services; and are operating without the requisite Recruiting Agent Certificate of Foreign Employer Permits, as mandated under the Emigration Act, 1983. " It instructed DCs and SSPs/CPs to take suitable legal action under the Emigration Act against such offenders. There are 166 recruitment agents (RA) registered in Punjab under the Emigration Act, 1983, as per the official emigrate portal. Protector of emigrants, Chandigarh, Yashu Deep Singh said there are 8,000-9,000 travel agents registered under PTPR Act in Punjab. "In about a year-long exercise, we detected 120 travel agents who are illegally offering services for overseas employment and duping people without having the mandatory recruitment agent (RA) licence under the Emigration Act, 1983," he said. Singh added the protector of emigrants has been sharing the details of such travel agents with Punjab Police regularly. "In about six months, 49 FIRs were registered against such travel agents in Punjab," he said. He added 52 such unregistered travel agents indulging in offering overseas employment were detected in Chandigarh, and 13 FIRs were registered so far. The law also requires an agent to declare: "I am fully aware of the provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983, and I hereby affirm that no advertisement or activity carried out by my agency violates Sections 10 or 16 of the said Act. My agency does not engage in any recruitment-related services (such as Work Visa, Work Permit, Employment Visa, etc.) for overseas employment without the necessary registration or permit as required under the Emigration Act, 1983. " The advisory also asked the DCs to actively promote awareness regarding safe and legal overseas migration practices among youth and prospective emigrants in their respective districts. "Individuals should be advised to use only legal channels and registered Recruiting Agents for overseas employment," it says. "All Deputy Commissioners and SSPs/CPs are directed to continue district-level enforcement drives against illegal and unregistered travel agents. Regular inspections, public reporting mechanisms, and coordinated law enforcement actions are essential," says the advisory, noting that "These preventive and enforcement measures are crucial to protect the interests of Punjab's youth from fraud and exploitation; ensure compliance with national laws; and strengthen public trust in legal emigration systems. "
New Indian Express
10-07-2025
- New Indian Express
Punjab issues advisory to curb emigration fraud by licensed travel agents after MEA alert
CHANDIGARH: With the mushrooming of illegal travel agents across Punjab and youth being lured and duped on the pretext of being sent abroad, the Punjab government has now issued an advisory following a missive from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This comes in response to repeated violations of the Emigration Act by agents licensed under the Punjab Travel Professionals Regulation (PTPR) Act. The advisory makes it mandatory for all licensed travel agents across the state to file monthly self-declarations with their respective Deputy Commissioners regarding the advertisements issued by them. This is aimed at enabling authorities to monitor and apprehend illegal agents or fly-by-night operators who lure youngsters through social media by offering assistance related to 'work visas', 'work permits' or 'employment visas'. According to the advisory issued by the Passport Branch of the state government on June 20 to all Deputy Commissioners, Police Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police, these directions follow reports of violations of the Emigration Act, 1983 by travel agents licensed under the PTPR Act, 2012. It states, 'The Government of Punjab has received communications from the Protector General of Emigrants, New Delhi, and Protector of Emigrants, Chandigarh, Ministry of External Affairs, highlighting that numerous travel agents registered under the PTPR Act are reportedly engaged in activities that contravene provisions of the Emigration Act.' 'It has been observed that certain PTPR-licensed travel agents are advertising employment and work visa opportunities for foreign countries, assisting individuals with 'work permits', 'employment visas' and other job-related travel services without the requisite Recruiting Agents Certificate or foreign employer permits as mandated under the Emigration Act. Accordingly, several FIRs have already been lodged by the Punjab Police NRI Wing against such agents,' it added. The advisory further states that in light of these violations and to ensure strict compliance with legal provisions, the following directions are issued for immediate implementation: 'Deputy Commissioners, being the competent authorities under the PTPR Act, shall regularly monitor the activities of travel agents, especially on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp. Monthly self-declarations must be obtained from all PTPR-licensed travel agents regarding their advertising and publicity practices.'
