Chandigarh: Three travel agencies booked for fake visa letters

The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) has filed a case against three travel agencies in the city following a complaint from a Delhi-based company.

The company reported that these agents were involved in document tampering, including creating “fake and edited” appointment letters required for visa applications. The complaint was filed after the company encountered three separate customers who were issued fraudulent documents by the Chandigarh-based travel agencies.

According to complainant Anand Singh of VFS Global, New Delhi, the fraud came to light when three separate visa applicants visited their office in Connaught Place, New Delhi, for document verification. During routine checks, their appointment letters, which were required for visa applications for Poland, Germany and Lithuania respectively, were found to have been forged or doctored. The forged documents were linked to several travel agencies operating from Chandigarh.

The first incident took place on July 2, when a resident of Punjab, Gursharan Singh, applied for a visa to Poland. A check at the VFS Global office revealed that his appointment letter had been doctored. When inquired, Gursharan disclosed that he had obtained the forged document from a travel agent named Kamal Kumar, who runs a travel agency in Sector 40-C, Chandigarh.

On July 16, a second case came to light when Gurjant Singh, also from Punjab, submitted documents to obtain a German visa. His appointment letter also turned out to be fake. Further investigation revealed that Gurjant had received the fraudulent document from Anas Khan of Bishop Immigration, Sector 40-C, Chandigarh.

The third incident took place on July 26, involving Gurpreet Singh, another resident of Punjab. He applied for a visa to Lithuania, but his documents were flagged during verification due to a forged appointment letter. Gurpreet identified his agent as Jaspreet Kaur of Veracity Overseas, a travel agency based in Piccadily Square Mall, Chandigarh.

The police have registered a case under sections 318 (4), 338, 336 (3) and 340 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the EOW police station.