Rs 1.5 crore visa scam busted: MBA graduate caught after months in hiding

Panchkula police have arrested a 35-year-old MBA graduate accused of duping nearly 100 people across Punjab and Haryana with fake promises of jobs and visas to Australia, Canada, and New Zealand

A 35-year-old MBA graduate accused of running a fake immigration network across northern India has been arrested in Jaipur after evading police for months.

 

The police said in a statement, Sahil Sharma, from Punjab, is believed to have defrauded nearly a hundred people in Punjab and Haryana by promising jobs and visas abroad. He was taken into custody by Panchkula police on November 3, following a complaint from a local resident.

 

How the immigration scam operated

 

Investigators say Sharma posed as an overseas placement consultant and persuaded families to pay large sums for supposed work opportunities in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

 

 

One victim from Panchkula told officers that he paid ₹14 lakh after being assured his son’s visa was being processed. “Five lakh was transferred to his account and the rest handed over in cash,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Vikram Nehra. “Once the money was taken, all contact stopped.”

 

Sharma’s team is said to have run offices in Ludhiana, Zirakpur and Yamunanagar, issuing forged documents and even fake air tickets to appear legitimate. Police say he regularly changed his location and used several phones and SIM cards obtained with false identity papers.

 

Police action and recoveries in immigration scam

 

The investigation began with the arrest of one of Sharma’s associates in late October, who revealed his whereabouts. A second suspect was later brought in through a production warrant.

 

During raids, police recovered gold and diamond jewellery worth more than ₹1.25 crore, ₹26.5 lakh in cash, 12 mobile phones, multiple ATM cards, passports and a sports utility vehicle.

 

Officers said the gang’s network extended into Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, and that further arrests were likely.

 

Police said Sharma, who once turned down a government teaching post in Punjab, had been planning to expand his activities to Rajasthan before being caught. Further investigations are under way.

 

What the law says on immigration scam

 

Under Indian law, only agents registered with the Ministry of External Affairs under the Emigration Act, 1983 are authorised to offer overseas employment services.

 

“Running unlicensed immigration operations can attract charges of cheating under Section 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and, in serious cases, human trafficking provisions under Sections 359 and 360,” Deepika Kumari, partner at King Stubb & Kasiva, Advocates and Attorneys told Business Standard.