New Delhi: The Delhi Police arrested a travel agent from Hyderabad in connection with its 16-month probe into a fake passport-visa racket that duped victims on the promise of sending them abroad.
Sayed Shoukat Ulla, the accused, was arrested Wednesday while trying to flee to Dubai from Hyderabad as there was a Look Out Circular against him.
The case pertains to an FIR registered at the IGI Airport police station on 11 September 2022 after two Gujarat residents arrived at the airport after being deported from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI Airport, Usha Rangnani said that a close scrutiny of their documents showed that both the residents of Gandhi Nagar travelled to Dubai on valid Indian passports on 21 July 2022 but produced forged Malaysian passports upon arrival in Baku.
Both the passengers travelled through Muscat on Indian passports but submitted Malaysian passports in Baku following which Azerbaijan’s immigration authority sent them back via the same route.
DCP Rangnani said that both the passengers were assured of their entry to Europe on the basis of their forged Malaysian passports by a Gandhinagar-based agent for which he took a commission of Rs 20 lakh for each passenger.
In due course of investigation, the Delhi Police arrested the accused, Vijay Bhai Patel, in October 2022 and the role of another travel agent Shoukat Ulla came into picture.
A source in the Delhi Police said that both Patel and Shoukat Ulla hatched conspiracy to forge documents for Malaysian passports of the two passengers while Shoukat Ulla booked their tickets and arranged for stay in Dubai for a commission of Rs 13 lakh.
“Both Vijay Bhai Patel and Shoukat Ulla were working hand in glove with each other in facilitation of the forged documents and Malaysian passports. Both were aware of the entire plan from travel to Dubai to the final plan of Europe travel, and were on the same page,” a source in the Delhi Police told ThePrint.
Three accused arrested in 2022 are out on bail while the Delhi Police have obtained police custody of Shoukat Ullah, ThePrint has learnt.
Additionally, DCP Rangnani said that the probe is not over and that investigating officers are scrutinising the bank accounts of Shoukat Ulla to find out whether he was involved in any other similar case.
“Accused Shoukat Ulla disclosed that he was working as a ticket booking agent and he used to work on commission basis along with other agents. In this case, he booked the tickets of both pax and made their stay arrangement in Dubai and helped in arranging forged Malaysian passports. He received a commission of Rs 13 lakh approximately. He further confessed his involvement and disclosed that he along with his associates cheated people to make easy money,” DCP Rangnani said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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