Panchkula: Gang involved in ‘cheating’ 100 on pretext of sending them abroad, busted

A case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at the Chandimandir police station, and the investigation was assigned to Inspector Yogvinder Singh, in-charge of the Anti-Immigration Fraud Unit, with ASI Deepak as the investigating officer.

Following intelligence inputs, police arrested Parmjeet Singh, a resident of Fatehgarh Sahib, from Kharar on October 24. He was found using a fake identity under the name Pradeep Singh. His interrogation led to the arrest of the main accused, Sharma, from a rented accommodation in Jaipur on November 3. He was produced before court and remanded to police custody till November 11.

According to the police, during questioning, Sharma revealed he had an MBA degree and was offered a teaching job with the Punjab government last year, which he declined to continue his immigration operations. He admitted to frequently changing locations using multiple mobile phones and fake SIM cards, and was now planning to expand his network in Rajasthan to trap new victims, police said.

Police have also brought co-accused Ramanpreet Kaur of Yamunanagar on a production warrant in connection with the same case.

Main accused wanted in 26 cases

Investigations further revealed that Sharma, of Hoshiarpur (Punjab), is wanted in 26 cases — 13 cases in Yamunanagar, 6 in Shahkot (Jalandhar), 2 in Zirakpur, 1 in Panchkula, 2 in Ferozepur, and 2 in Ludhiana. He was earlier declared a proclaimed offender in six cases and had been arrested by Jalandhar police under the fake name Pradeep, but fled after being released on bail.

Police raids resulted in the recovery of 874 grams of gold and diamonds (around 25 per cent diamond content) valued at Rs 1.25 crore, Rs 26.50 lakh in cash, 12 mobile phones, one laptop, 25 ATM cards, two passports, and an XUV500 car. Further recoveries are expected during remand.

During the interrogation, police said they found that the gang was operating across multiple states, including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, where fraudulent bank accounts and transactions were detected. The accused had opened fake accounts in 7–8 banks and procured SIM cards using forged documents, raising suspicion of possible collusion with some bank and telecom employees, as biometric verification was allegedly bypassed, police said.

“A shocking revelation from the probe showed that on June 10, the gang called nearly 80 people to Delhi Airport with fake tickets and passports, promising a flight to Australia, and absconded soon after,” a police official said.

The gang also ran offices in Ludhiana (2), Zirakpur (1), and Yamunanagar (1).

Police said further investigation is underway to trace other associates and uncover the full extent of the racket.