2 Mumbai residents among 8 booked for immigration fraud

While 16 of them,from different parts of Punjab,remained at home even after paying Rs 37.3 lakh to the accused from Mumbai through their “managerial staff” in the Mohali office,two from Karnal in Haryana landed in Thailand,said investigation officer (IO) Inspector Gurmeet Singh.

Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) in-charge Sub-Inspector Gurwinder Singh said Harwinder Kumar alias Lally of Nawanshahr took Pardeep Singh and his relative Avtar Singh,both in their early 20s,to Thailand in May this year after Pardeep’s sister paid Rs 32 lakh to a group of four immigrants operating from Chandigarh.

Lally stayed with them at a hotel for four days,promising them to soon fly to Canada,said the officer. He,however,returned to India without telling them.

Since Pardeep and Avtar did not have any money or document,they were kept captive at the hotel till their families sent them Rs 50,000 to pay the dues.

The duo approached the Thailand police,which arranged for their deportation,but not before their families paid another Rs 1.22 lakh as the charges,said Gurwinder.

On the basis of a complaint lodged by Rajwant Kaur,the police booked Lally and his accomplices Kulwinder Singh Cheema of Nawanshahr and Ashok Kumar and Satnam Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib,but they went into hiding.

In another case,Beena Masoom Ali and Shaukat Ali of Mumbai and their managers Naushaad and Memon operating from an office in Sector 70,Mohali,were charged with duping Saurabh Puri of Gurdaspur,Jaswinder Kaur of Jalandhar and 14 others of Rs 37.3 lakh. They were neither sent to Canada,nor returned their money,they alleged in the complaint.