Agent held at IGI for running racket to illegally send Indians to US via forged passports

The police at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi apprehended a Haryana-based travel agent for his alleged involvement in sending Indian nationals to the United States illegally via multiple countries, using forged immigration stamps and tampered passports, cops said on Friday.

The police mentioned that the accused, Amit Kumar (35), a resident of Barounda village in Kurukshetra, Haryana, was arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with this case that was registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Passport Act at IGI Airport Police Station.

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“The incident came to light when, on the intervening night of May 23 and 24, a 23-year-old Indian national from Ambala, Haryana, was deported from the United States and landed at IGI Airport, Delhi,” a senior officer mentioned.

He further added, “During document verification by immigration authorities, officials found that several pages of his passport were missing. It was suspected that those pages might have contained fake visa entries or forged immigration stamps.”

Upon interrogation, the deported passenger admitted to having removed the passport pages on the instructions of an agent. With this info, the inquiry conducted by the officer led to the arrest of the main suspect, Amit Kumar, who was the facilitator in this racket.

According to police officials, the passenger came in contact with Kumar and his associates Rajat and Harshbir, who were operating a travel agency named ‘Yes Immigration’ in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. The agents allegedly charged him Rs. 35 lakhs to arrange an illegal entry into the U.S.

While probing into this case, it further came out that the youth was initially sent to the United Kingdom from India, where he stayed for one month. From there, he was illegally routed through France, Spain, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico before crossing into the U.S. border with the help of the agent network.

Furthermore, to cover up the illegal travel, the accused arranged for counterfeit immigration stamps of multiple countries to be affixed to the victim’s passport.

Following the instructions dictated by the agent, he tore the pages from his passport. However, American immigration officials detected the tampering, resulting in his arrest and eventual deportation after a six-month detention.

During sustained interrogation with Kumar, he confessed to being involved in the conspiracy and revealed that he entered the illegal immigration business after helping his brother migrate to Australia in 2009. He later joined hands with Rajat and Harshbir, setting up operations under ‘Yes Immigration.’