Aiming to avoid legal trouble, ‘donkey operators’ return money to 6 victims

Following strict action against fraud cases involving the promise of sending youths abroad, dubious immigration agents and unauthorised ILETS (International English Language Testing System) centre operators, commonly known as donkey operators, are now attempting to evade legal consequences.

As part of their efforts, they have begun returning the money they had fraudulently taken from people on the pretext of sending them to foreign countries for jobs and academics.

Agents from IELTS centre and immigration consultants refunded a total of ₹10.10 lakh to six victims from the Pooranpur region in Pilibhit district. Following the reimbursement, the victims visited the local police station on Saturday and expressed their gratitude by honouring the police for their swift action against the fraudsters.

On Friday, HT reported about over 100 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered by Pilibhit police in the past 15 days, targeting fraudulent immigration agents. These agents are accused of duping individuals with false promises of foreign visas, jobs and education opportunities, according to the police. So far, 20 people involved in the racket have been arrested and sent to jail,

Talking to HT, Superintendent of police Avinash Pandey said, “Following the recent action on complaints of people being duped by illegal immigration agents, the accused men in a few cases have returned money to the victims. People have also come forward to thank the cops for the positive development. However, our probe into the larger immigration syndicate involving their money trail and their suspected nexus with Khalistani network will continue.”

The surge in FIRs followed a public hearing (Jansunwai) organised by the police on February 24 at the Pooranpur police station. More than 500 complaints were received from Pilibhit and neighbouring districts such as Lakhimpur Kheri and Shahjahanpur. Victims detailed harrowing accounts of being deceived by immigration agents, losing lakhs of rupees, and facing hardships abroad due to fake documents provided to them.