Man arrested for cheating woman on pretext of getting her study visa for Canada

A 56-year-old man was arrested in Delhi on Monday for allegedly cheating a woman of Rs 11 lakh on the pretext of arranging study visa for Canada, police said.

The accused, identified as Harmeet Singh Walia, a resident of Pitampura, was arrested from Netaji Subhash Place while his son Harmandeep Singh Walia has been on the run, they said.

The accused were running an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) coaching centre.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that she had approached a private coaching institute in June-July 2016 and took classes for 30 days. During coaching, the accused duo got to know about her plans of going to Canada on study visa, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Vijayanta Arya said.

Harmandeep offered to arrange her study visa for Canada within three months but after sometime, the accused learnt that she had applied for the visa through another agency, she said.

He contacted her again and remained in touch with her, she added.

On November 11, 2016, the woman told him that her study visa for Canada has been rejected following which he called her to his office at Netaji Subhas Place, the DCP said.

Harmandeep assured her of arranging a visa within six months but asked her to pay an amount of Rs 11 lakh, she said.

The victim paid the amount to him in instalments but later realised of her mistake and approached the police.

The police said efforts were being made to arrest Harmandeep.