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39 Indians with fake visas deported

DUBAI — The Indian government has started investigations against the travel agent who issued fake visas for Dubai to 39 job-seekers after charging them hefty amounts, a source in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) said yesterday.

Thirty-nine Indians had been deported from Dubai International Airport on Monday night for travelling on fake visas. All the deportees reportedly paid huge amounts to the same travel agent in Chandigarh. The men travelled to Dubai in an Indian aircraft from New Delhi along with five others with a one-way ticket.

The airline provided return tickets for the 39 men after the Dubai immigration officials discovered they were carrying fake visas that were purportedly issued in the name of a Sharjah-based company.

The five men who were travelling with the group, however, possessed genuine visas. The MOIA source in New Delhi said yesterday the ministry had contacted the Indian mission in Dubai as well as the Protectorate of Emigrants Office in Chandigarh to start investigations.

Police in Chandigarh are on the lookout for culprits involved in this visa racket. “We will initiate a criminal case if it is a non-registered agent. If it is a registered agent we would cancel his license,” the source said.

The ministry, he added, was taking the issue seriously and measures would be initiated to curb such malpractices. However, it is still not clear how the 39 passengers managed to clear immigration formalities at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

Consul-General of India in Dubai Venu Rajamony told Khaleej Times the matter has been reported to the Indian Government. “We met the airline officials to find out how the incident happened. It was a shocking incident and we have informed New Delhi about it,” he said.

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