Hyderabad: Two individuals were arrested on Wednesday, May 14, for tampering with passports, visas, and bypassing immigration laws to send job seekers to Gulf countries without POE (Protector of Emigrants) certificates and work contract documents.
The police confiscated 14 doctored passports, 14 visas, 14 Police Clearance Certificates (PCCs), 16 airline tickets, two rubber stamps, a stamp pad, seven mobile phones, and a laptop from the accused.
The major operation by Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) police, with the special operations team (SOT) Shamshabad Zone, was undertaken to curb illegal immigration rackets. Based on a tipoff, the accused were arrested from the Three Castle Hotel in Nampally, Hyderabad.
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The two accused, Chilukuri Balaji, 43, and Sunkara Shiva Kumar, 30, from Andhra Pradesh, were operating an illegal human trafficking racket targeting gullible people with promises of well-paying jobs in Gulf nations such as Kuwait and Oman. Under the cover of a fictitious agency named “Srinivasa Global Recruits,” the two allegedly manipulated work visas, turning them into tourist visas to evade immigration scrutiny.
The suspects were booked under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Passport Act. Section 318(4) of the BNS relates to cheating by impersonation using electronic or other means. Section 336(3) deals with forging or counterfeiting documents for the purpose of cheating. Section 340(2) pertains to using forged documents as genuine, knowing them to be fake. Section 112 covers abetment of such offences.
Additionally, they were charged under Section 12(1)(a) and (b) of the Passport Act, which penalise furnishing false information or using forged documents to obtain a passport or travel documents.
Case that led to passport, visa forgery racket bust
The case was unearthed following a complaint lodged on May 13 by Gandikota Venkata Ramana, a 38-year-old woman from West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. She complained that Balaji, Shiva Kumar, and their agents cheated her and seven other women into thinking they could travel legally to Kuwait through Muscat on tourist visas, even though they possessed Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports.
At RGIA, officials found her Kuwait visa stamped “cancelled,” revealing the tampering.
Venkata Ramana filed a case against the agents for fraud and immigration offences.
The police have said that Balaji and Shiva Kumar, and their absconding partners Satyanarayana and Anji alias Penegalapati Ramanjaneyulu targeted poor, illiterate candidates from Andhra Pradesh.
Victims were promised overseas jobs with fat salaries, and each was charged between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000. The accused kept Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 as commission after deducting expenses.
The racket included making fake visas with the help of sub-agents in Mumbai and even from the Kuwait Consulate. For the purpose of evading Indian immigration clearance, the accused marked genuine work visas as “CANCELLED” to create false tourist visas.
Round-trip tickets and tourist visas for leaving were given to victims, whereas bogus work visas, PCCs, and boarding passes were utilized at Gulf nation immigration desks. The accused also made arrangements for medical examinations and stay in Nampally prior to the departure of victims from RGIA.
Ongoing investigation
Balaji, who was previously involved in a similar crime in Amritsar, and Shiva Kumar operated a ring of sub-agents to carry out the scam. The police are now tracking down Satyanarayana, Anji, and another accomplice, Gopal, who are members at large.
The RGIA police have appealed to the public to check the credentials of travel agents and follow emigration regulations while opting for employment abroad.
