A young man from Haryana, Sandeep, found himself in serious trouble at Delhi airport on September 2. As he was preparing to board a flight to Italy, immigration officials discovered that his Swedish visa was a fake. Sandeep, nervous and cornered, confessed during questioning that he wasn’t the only one—many others from his village had successfully used similar forged visas to travel abroad.
The Unraveling of a 5-Year Fake Visa Racket
What began as a routine immigration check turned into the unraveling of a multi-crore fake visa racket that had been operating in Delhi for the last five years. This wasn’t just a small-time scam. The group behind it had made nearly ₹300 crore by producing four to five thousand fake visas over the years.
Following the Trail: Key Arrests
Sandeep revealed that he had paid ₹10 lakh to an agent named Asif Ali to get his fake visa. Acting on this lead, the police quickly arrested Asif and his associates, Shiva Gautam and Naveen Rana. During the investigation, Shiva revealed the involvement of two more agents, Balbir Singh and Jaswinder Singh, both of whom were also apprehended.
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The Heart of the Operation: A Factory in Tilak Nagar
The agents disclosed that the fake visas were being produced in a factory in Tilak Nagar, Delhi, which was run by Manoj Monga, a graphic designer who had turned his skills towards illegal activities. Manoj was introduced to the world of forgery by a man named Jaideep Singh. The police raided the factory, where they arrested Manoj and confiscated equipment used to create the counterfeit documents.
A Well-Oiled Machine of Fake Visa Production
This wasn’t a crude operation. The gang was producing 30 to 60 fake visas every month, with each visa taking just 20 minutes to create. These fake visas, sold for ₹8-10 lakh each, were used by people desperate to go abroad. The group relied on Telegram, Signal, and WhatsApp to connect with job seekers through an extensive network of agents.
What the Police Found
Deputy Commissioner of Police Usha Rangrani, who led the investigation, shared that the police had arrested six individuals so far. They also recovered 16 Nepali passports, two Indian passports, 30 fake visa stickers, and 23 visa stamps. In addition, they seized equipment like dye machines, printers, UV machines, and laptops that were used in the illegal operation.
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