A Canada-based agent, wanted in a six-year-old case of allegedly sending passengers abroad on forged documents, has been arrested by the Delhi Police in Ahmedabad, an official said on Friday.
The police identified the accused as 54-year-old Guramritpal Singh Multani alias Pali, a native of Canada.
A senior police officer said, “Pali was wanted in connection with a 2019 case, following the deportation of nine Indians from Ethiopia for carrying forged Continuous Discharge Certificates (CDCs) purportedly issued by the Government of Samoa.”
The officer further said that Pali was arrested on September 29 at Ahmedabad Airport shortly after his return to India and was brought to New Delhi on Thursday.
While being interrogated, the accused disclosed that he had previously been a national-level kabaddi player, representing a university in Punjab and a sports club in Canada, before turning to the business of sending people abroad with fraudulent documents for quick buck.
He then moved to Canada with his family in 1995 and secured permanent residency in 1999, the officer mentioned in his statement.
In 2019, Singh had arranged fake CDCs for two passengers through an associate, Manjeet, from Jalandhar, charging Rs 20 lakh each, and noted that five other accused in the same case had already been arrested.
The police stated that he faces seven similar cases, mostly registered at the IGI Airport police station between 2009 and 2021. Previously, he was charged with cheating, forgery, conspiracy, and violation of the Passports Act.
The officer stated that the 2019 case was filed following a complaint from immigration authorities after the Samoan government confirmed that the CDCs recovered from the deported passengers turned out to be forged.
During investigation, two passengers identified Pali as the agent who had arranged the documents, adding that he had been evading arrest for years while residing in Canada.
Further investigation into this case is ongoing to map his network and identify others involved in the racket.