To take 'donkey route' to US, 24-year-old poses as elderly man after makeover at hair salon, gets arrested at IGI airport

On June 19, an “old man” with a white beard and blue turban stood in the immigration queue at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. He introduced himself as Rashvinder Singh Sahota, 67, who was heading to Canada. As he spoke, the CISF officials there sensed something odd: the man’s voice seemed at odds with his age. On closer inspection, they noticed that he looked young and his skin was completely devoid of wrinkles.

It turned out that the person posing as a 60-year-old was a 24-year-old man, Guru Sevak Singh, who was travelling on another man’s passport. He was arrested.

His wife, Archana Kaur, who was about to attempt a similar imitation, fled the scene. She was then tied up.

Police said the accused and his wife were residing in Lucknow and were staying at a hotel in Mahipalpur for a week now.

A case of cheating has been registered against Guru Sevak, police said.

Festive offer

“During the investigation, Guru Sevak revealed that the couple wanted to go to the US to get a job and a chance to earn a living. Guru Sevak had contacted an agent, Jagjeet Singh alias Jaggi, through one of his friends. Jagjeet had promised to send Guru Sevak and his wife to the US illegally via Canada through the ‘donkey route’ on another person’s passport in exchange for Rs 60 lakh,” said DCP (IGI) Usha Rangnani.

Guru Sevak told the police that he had already given Rs 30 lakh to Jaggi. He said the rest of the amount was to be transferred after reaching the destination. “As per the agreement, Jaggi got a passport for him from one Rashvinder Singh Sahota. Similarly, the passport of one Harjeet Kaur was obtained for his wife for their trip to Canada,” Rangnani added.

The History of Makeover

On the agent’s instructions, one of Jaggi’s associates took Guru Sevak to a Tilak Nagar-based salon to make him look like an ‘old man’.

“One of the salon staff gave him a makeover to look like the passport photo… he got his beard bleached for Rs 2,000,” an officer said.

Police also arrested constable Jaggi from his hideout in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. During interrogation, Jaggi told police that he was a graduate who ran a company, ‘True Talk Imagination’, in Bijnor, Uttarakhand. The company deals in booking tickets and sending people abroad. “During the course of his work, he came in contact with agents who were cheating people on the pretext of sending them abroad and started working with them,” the DCP said.

The owner of the salon where the makeover took place is being questioned, an official said, adding that she is now a witness in the case.