Human smuggling bid foiled,‘production executive’ held

It was also revealed that the other four members who applied for visas on the pretext of going for a film project,were being smuggled to the United States.

The incident came to light after the six-member team was called for scrutiny,after a routine biometric review of the applicants revealed that Rai and Mehla had previously applied for visas using different identities.

When Rai,the owner of ‘Himalaya Fame Film Productions’ who claimed to have traveled to various countries in South Asia to see location sights for his films,was questioned,he said he had applied in Mauritius using the name Gurdev Singh.

A complaint filed against Rai alleged that had been previously identified as a possible human smuggler,and has been issued several passports in different names.

The other accused,Mehla,told the consular that he is an investor in the company and was introduced to Rai by director Vikram Sandhu. Mehla also admitted that he had previously applied and obtained a passport assuming a different identity with the help of an agent.

He said he invested about Rs 25 lakh in the project,the complaint stated.

The other four members of the crew,who had contacted Rai’s company’s through Naukri.com and newspaper advertisements,said that none of them have any experience in filmmaking,and that they were going to be smuggled to USA.

“One of the six members of the crew said that his job was to scout locations for the film but he had never seen any shooting taking place for the film nor had he visited any office of Himalaya Fame Film Production. Another member of the crew admitted that he had been given the job of an assistant director in the company,but was actually going to be smuggled to USA,” the complainant stated.

One more crew member admitted that he was asked to wait to get the transit visa,after which he was to pay a sum of Rs 15 lakh to the owner of the company.

A senior police officer said,“We have arrested Mehla and a hunt to nab Rai is on. A case of forgery,using forged documents,criminal conspiracy,fraud and cheating has been registered against the accused. Further investigations are underway.”

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