HC flags rise of immigration scams exploiting Indians, harming national image

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has flagged the alarming rise in immigration scams, where unscrupulous agents posing as travel facilitators dupe Indian nationals into illegal routes abroad, resulting in deportations, detentions, and irreparable harm to both the individuals and the country’s reputation.

“Unscrupulous agents masquerading as travel agents have, in recent years, become a menace. In multiple instances, Indian nationals have been deported or detained in foreign countries after being routed through illegal channels by such unscrupulous elements, resulting in irreparable harm, both to the individuals and to the reputation of the country,” Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul asserted.

The assertion came as Justice Kaul made it clear that the custodial interrogation of an accused in one such matter was not only warranted but necessary to unearth the wider network of criminal syndicates. “This case is yet another grim reflection of that unfortunate trend. The allegations, if proved, constitute a case of human exploitation and aggravated fraud, carried out under the garb of immigration. The custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not only warranted but necessary to unearth the wider network of such criminal syndicates,” Justice Kaul asserted.

The Bench, during the course of hearing, was told that the petitioner and a co-accused had promised to send the complainant’s son to the USA. But he allegedly routed him through illegal channels, resulting in his arrest and incarceration in Poland for seven months. During this period, the petitioner and co-accused allegedly made extortionate demands, threatening the life of the complainant’s son.

The court noted that the FIR contained “deeply incriminating material against the petitioner” and reflected “a prima facie deliberate and organized plan to dupe vulnerable persons aspiring for better opportunities abroad.”

Refusing anticipatory bail to the accused in the case registered on March 19 at Phillaur police station in Jalandhar district, Justice Kaul added the court could not lose sight of the larger societal implications of such acts. “Given the nature of the accusations, this court does not deem it fit to extend the extraordinary concession of anticipatory bail to the petitioner,” Justice Kaul concluded.

Haryana Tribune