Immigration frauds: Ambala SIT recovers ₹1.93 crore in four months
IG Kabiraj said the said recovery was made between April 17 and July 21 during which a total of 220 accused were arrested with the registration of 331 criminal cases
The special investigation team (SIT), constituted under Ambala Range IG Sibash Kabiraj to probe cases of immigration fraud in Haryana, has recovered ₹1.93 crore from the accused arrested till Friday.
The SIT, which also includes Ambala SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa and Kaithal SP Abhishek Jorwal, was formed on the orders of Haryana home minister Anil Vij in April following a rise in immigration fraud cases.
Speaking to HT, IG Kabiraj said the said recovery was made between April 17 and July 21 during which a total of 220 accused were arrested with the registration of 331 criminal cases.
As per the arrest break-up, maximum 102 accused were held in Ambala, followed by 37 in Kurukshetra, 31 in Karnal and rest in others districts.
While in terms of cases lodged, Ambala tops the list with 115, followed by 66 in Kurukshetra and 37 in Kaithal.
Earlier this month, the SIT chief and members had also met British Deputy High Commissioner Caroline Rowett and other officials of the United Kingdom Home Office.
Officials said the meeting-cum-workshop was aimed at preventing exploitation of young Indians who were being sent to the UK illegally in dangerous conditions by unscrupulous travel agents.
Kabiraj said the meeting was fruitful, and the team was working to arrange similar meetings with the high commissions of Australia and Canada in the coming days.
The SIT is also probing six cases where duplicate visas were issued to travellers, most of whom realised the fraud on arriving at airports.
On this, the IG said, “These are serious cases and there are instructions from the home minister to probe them on priority. We have decided to transfer all cases to Ambala and have deputed a DSP-rank officer for investigation.”
The SIT has also prepared a draft to be formulated as an Act by the state government on the functioning of immigration consultancies. The rules that will be released by the home department are said to be stricter than neighbouring Punjab and Chandigarh.
