Two men were allegedly duped of more than Rs 30 lakh by travel agents who promised to them jobs in the US. The travel agents,however,sent only one of them out of country and the man is now feared abducted. On Saturday,Satish Rai approached the police to file a complaint naming four travel agents who had cheated him and his brother-in-law Mahendra Singh. As per Rais complaint,the accused has sent Singh out of country and were threatening to kill him in case Rai failed to pay the ransom amount. Police said Rai and Singh met the agents near Kamal Cinema in Safdarjung Enclave in February last year. The agents told them that the whole process (of sending them to the US) will require some time and they would have to pay Rs 12 lakh each, said a senior police officer based on Rais complaint. As the agents had insisted at a part of the money be paid in advance,Rai and Singh met them again at Kamal Cinema and handed over Rs 4 lakh each and their passports,the complaint said. The agents later called the two up to say the their visas had been cleared. Rais complaint said they were shown a photocopy of the visas and they gave the agents Rs 5 lakh more. A few days later,police said,the brothers-in-law were told that Singhs ticket for the West Indies would have to be arranged as that is where his new job would be. As Singh left for West Indies,Rai was assured that he would be sent later. Rai told police that Singh called him from West Indies to say that they had been cheated. When Rai called the agents he was told Singh would be taken to the US via Guatemala. The complaint stated that agents asked Rai to arrange for tickets for Singh or else he would see Mahendras dead body. While the accused kept Rai and his family in the dark,they learnt that Singh was lodged in a jail in the US,police were told. Rai told police that the accused demanded Rs 20 lakh for Singhs release. The money was paid. Singh,who has reportedly been released from the US jail,hasnt contacted his family yet. I fear that Mahendra has been kidnapped by the agent who asked for Rs 20 lakh more,claiming that he is a don in the USA and is well known in Delhi and Gujarat, said Rai in his complaint. A case has been registered,police said.
