Two Punjab Travel Agents Arrested for Illegally Sending People to Cambodia.

A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the law and the Immigration Act. The arrested individuals have been identified as Amarjeet Singh, the owner of Visa Palace Immigration in Mohali, and his accomplice Gurjodh Singh, as stated in an official report. The travel agents who were detained were found to be sending innocent people from Punjab to Cambodia, promising them high-paying positions as data entry operators.

Upon their arrival in Siem Reap, their passports were confiscated, and they were coerced into working at “cyber scamming” call centers targeting Indian individuals for cyber financial frauds, the report added. Following a victim’s statement, who managed to escape from Cambodia after reaching out to the Indian Embassy there, the State Cyber Crime Police Station registered a first information report (FIR) and initiated investigations in the case. Preliminary investigation unveiled that the accused individuals fraudulently sent numerous persons to Cambodia and other South-East Asian countries, where they were compelled to work at cyber scam facilities targeting Indians.

Efforts are being made to obtain the details of the individuals trapped in cyber slavery and establish contact with them and their families, the report mentioned. Additionally, Additional DGP Cyber Crime Division, V Neeraja, confirmed that police teams led by Inspector Deepak Bhatia conducted a raid at the office of Visa Palace Immigration and apprehended the accused persons. The accused disclosed that they were collaborating with agents from various states to carry out these illicit activities.

Further investigations are ongoing to identify other travel agents and their accomplices, she stated. Furthermore, citizens were urged to be vigilant about fraudulent immigration activities and not be deceived by misleading promises of lucrative job opportunities abroad. It was advised to thoroughly verify the background of prospective employers, particularly when work is offered under the guise of a ‘data entry operator’ job, and to avoid engaging in any illegal cyber activities, reaching out to the Indian Embassy in case of concerns.

The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, has established an Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) as a single-window facilitation centre, operating a 24×7 helpline (1800113090) to provide required support services to individuals seeking employment abroad. If any person from Punjab has fallen victim to this alleged scam, they were encouraged to contact the State Cyber Crime Division helpline (0172-2226258) for further facilitation through the Ministry of External Affairs, as per the statement. *(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.

)*