New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) In an ongoing crackdown on fraudulent travel agents, the staff of the Indira Gandhi International Airport Police station have arrested a Haryana-based agent, Vishan Dutt alias Vishu (30), for facilitating a fake Canadian visa for a passenger attempting to travel to Canada via Taiwan.

The case came to light during the intervening night of June 23-24 when an Indian passenger, Tarsem Lal (47), a resident of Mehar Majra, arrived at IGI Airport after being denied onward boarding for Canada in Taiwan.

Immigration officials discovered a counterfeit Canadian visitor visa pasted in his passport during document scrutiny.

A case was immediately registered, and Tarsem Lal was arrested for attempting to deceive Indian immigration authorities with a forged visa.

During interrogation, Lal revealed that several of his relatives had migrated to Canada and were earning well, which motivated him to explore similar opportunities for better livelihood and financial prospects.

In pursuit of this goal, he contacted Vishan Dutt, who promised to arrange a multiple-entry Canadian visitor visa and facilitate his journey via Taipei for a total fee of Rs 15 lakh. The agent also assured him of job opportunities in Canada.

Lal paid Rs 1 lakh into Vishan’s bank account, Rs 1.5 lakh via UPI to the agent’s wife’s account, and Rs 3.5 lakh in cash. The remaining amount was to be paid after reaching Canada.

As per his statement, Tarsem Lal flew from IGI Airport to Malaysia on May 11, where he stayed for about a month. During his stay, an associate of Vishan took his passport and later returned it with a fake Canadian visa affixed.

His onward travel was arranged from Malaysia to Indonesia, then Bangkok, and finally to Taipei, from where he was to fly to Canada. However, Taiwanese immigration authorities identified the visa as fake and deported him back to Delhi.

Following Lal’s arrest, a dedicated team of police officers was formed to apprehend the agent. Multiple raids were carried out based on information provided by the passenger, but the accused initially evaded arrest. Subsequently, technical surveillance and local intelligence were used to track him down.

Vishan Dutt was eventually arrested from a hideout in Yamuna Nagar. During sustained interrogation, he confessed to his role in the operation. He disclosed that he had studied up to the 8th standard and began working with a network of agents involved in visa fraud in 2022, lured by the promise of quick money.

He admitted that he had arranged forged documents, including the fake visa, and coordinated the passenger’s multi-country travel route to ultimately reach Canada. However, the plan failed when Taiwanese authorities detected the counterfeit visa.

–IANS

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