Hyderabad: Fake visa racket busted, seven held

By: Express Web Desk | Hyderabad | Updated: February 14, 2020 8:35:25 pm

Two kingpins and five sub-agents were arrested in the raid. (Representational Image)

The Cyberabad police Friday busted an interstate gang that forged documents to send women hailing from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to Kuwait as labourers. Two kingpins and five sub-agents were arrested in the raid.

In order to work in Kuwait, one require an Emigration Check Required (ECT) passport and a clearance certificate from the Protector of Emigrants(PoE). So to bypass the system, the accused would send the women to Dubai on a tourist visa and from there to Kuwait using fake documents, thus escaping immigration clearance, Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar said.

The gang used to prepare fake certificates and also procure tourist visas for its customers to Dubai, police said. They targeted women workers who wished to return to Kuwait after returning home earlier and send them fraudulently on payment of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Upon reaching Kuwait, local agents arranged by the gang would provide them with employment in return for a commission of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.

The kingpin of the gang, 32-year-old Rellu Kubender Rao alias Chinna, use to arranged documents such as police clearance certificate, fake stamping certificates, medical Certificates, and others, Sajjanar said, adding that as many as 21 people have been sent to Kuwait so far. A list containing 101 names were also recovered from Kubender.

The commissioner also said that the victims were aware of the fraud. “Except the stamps issued by Kuwaiti government that is used, which are procured from Sri Lanka, everything else is fake. We will take the accused into police custody for further investigation.”

Three separate cases were registered at the RGI Airport police station based on which a probe was initiated by the police in the matter.

Rao, a class 6 drop-out, has been in the air-ticket booking business in Hyderabad on behalf of a Chennai based travel company and used to earn Rs 300 as commission per passenger. In two years, he learned the process involved in sending people abroad and hatched a plan to make money.

Police seized 16 passports, 25 stamps, 6 stamp pads, 13 Visa papers, 15 Meeseva papers, an HP Laptop and an Espon printer, apart from Rs 2 lakh in cash.

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