A brother-sister duo from Punjab, both travel agents, were arrested for allegedly duping several persons of crores on the pretext of sending them to the UK and Canada, including a woman police officer from Mohali, who is a member of the chief minister’s security team, Ludhiana police said Friday.
Police said Rs 1.07 crore in cash was seized from their possession which they allegedly collected from victims on the pretext of arranging their visas.
In her complaint submitted to Ludhiana police in May this year, Senior Constable Ravneet Kaur from Mohali stated that her brother and his wife were duped of Rs 14.30 lakh by Dugri residents Amit Malhotra, 39, and his sister Veenu Malhotra, the owners of Global Way Immigration at Ishmeet Singh Chowk in Ludhiana.
According to the FIR registered at the Model Town police station, Ravneet Kaur stated, “I am posted with the CM’s security team. My brother Jagdeep Singh and his wife Sukhvir Kaur wanted to move to the UK and had paid Rs 14.30 lakh to the Ludhiana firm in 2020 to arrange visas for them. However, the firm adopted dilly-dallying tactics and made them wait for four years on one pretext or the other. The firm neither arranged their visas nor returned them their money.”
After a thorough probe, an FIR was registered against the duo on September 4 under the sections 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (as the crime reportedly took place in 2020) and section 24 of the Immigration Act at the Model Town police and then the brother-sister duo was arrested, police said.
Police said the prima facie probe revealed the siblings duped several people to the tune of crores of rupees, and further investigation was being conducted.
Additional DCP Zone-3 Shubham Aggarwal said the brother-sister duo would lure people with the false promise of sending them abroad, mainly the UK and Canada. “After receiving the fee for the visa, they would point out flaws in the documents and claim their application was rejected. Gradually, they would swindle money from several victims which is being probedfurther,” the officer said.
Protesting against the same company, a couple — Hardeep Singh and Amandeep Kaur from Dhuri in Sangrur — had climbed atop a water tank in Ludhiana’s Model Town Extension on August 12, alleging they were duped of Rs 10 lakh on the pretext of arranging visas to the UK for them, and threatened to end their lives.
Hardeep’s brother Lakhwinder Singh said, “A deal was sealed for Rs 26 lakh, with an advance payment of Rs 10 lakh made via RTGS in February. However, the firm allegedly kept delaying the process and started making excuses when approached for updates on the visa. Besides, the company’s bouncers would misbehave with us.”
The couple climbed down after police assured them of action. Later, the Ludhiana district administration cancelled the firm’s licence.
Previously in 2018, three FIRs were registered against Veenu Malhotra for cheating at the Division Number 8 police station, police said.
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