To prevent frauds, Haryana moots Rs 25L bank guarantee clause for immigration agents

The SIT team, headed by IGP Sibas Kabiraj of Ambala Range, has submitted a draft of the proposal to the state police and it will finally go to the state government for approval.

“Currently, if a fraud of Rs 30-40 lakh takes place, there is no mechanism to recover the same in the absence of a bank guarantee. The recovery doesn’t take place even after the registration of an FIR and arrest of an accused,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express Monday.

The officer added that as per rough estimates from travel agents, there is an annual business of Rs 1,500 crore related to immigration of people from Haryana.

“Now, we have planned to register all agents and it could be related to passport, visa and even tickets. The list of all registered agents will then be put on the portal of the police department so that residents can check their credentials. In the coming months, we will have stricter rules than tneighbouring Punjab and Chandigarh,” the officer said, adding that the initiative is a brainchild of home minister Anil Vij.

Vij had earlier said that directions have been given to police to crack down on immigration fraudsters.

“There should also be some law for immigration agencies under which they can be registered and inspected. The cases of “kabootarbaaji” (human trafficking) are also increasing in the state. Earlier, too, I had formed an SIT headed by then IGP Bharti Arora and that had arrested 589 people. Now, cases are coming up again, so an SIT has been formed and a helpline number: 8053003400 has also been shared for people to register their complaints.”

After its formation on April 17 this year, the new SIT has already arrested 23 people and registered 138 FIRs. Fake visa, fake air tickets, sending a person to a wrong country are among the cases of fraud in Haryana.