A Nepali national has been arrested from a hideout in Delhi for operating a fake visa racket. He allegedly lured people with promises of easy money and a better livelihood abroad, according to the Delhi Police. The accused, identified as Sunil Thapa, was arrested for arranging a fake Hong Kong visa on an Indian passport for a female Nepali passenger with the help of his associates.
“One female passenger, named Sabina Gurung, who was holding an Indian passport, arrived at IGI Airport, Delhi, from Hong Kong on August 5, 2024,” said an official from the Indira Gandhi International Airport Police Station. During the scrutiny of her travel documents, it was discovered that she was a Nepali national who had fraudulently obtained an Indian passport.
“A case with FIR number 563/2024 under sections 318(4)/336(3)/340(2) BNS and the 12 PP Act was registered on August 4, 2024, at PS IGI Airport, New Delhi. An investigation was initiated,” the police added.
During the investigation, Sabina Gurung (27), a resident of Nalma district, Lamjung, Nepal, was arrested. Upon interrogation, she revealed that she wanted to go abroad for a better livelihood but was informed by friends that traveling on a Nepali passport was very difficult. She was advised that she could travel more easily on an Indian passport.
Gurung further disclosed that in 2018, one of her relatives arranged an Indian passport for her based on fake documents. She then met the accused agent, Sunil Thapa, who had been working in Delhi for the past few years. Thapa arranged a Hong Kong visa for her journey in exchange for Rs 1 lakh.
ALSO READ: Assembly Polls 2024: ECI Team Inspects Poll Preparedness In Jammu And Kashmir
She traveled to Hong Kong on a work visa in December 2023 and returned in January 2024. Gurung also revealed that in September 2024, Thapa again arranged a Hong Kong visa for her journey with the help of his associates, for another Rs 1 lakh, but her entry was denied at Hong Kong Airport due to the fake visa.
Following this, human intelligence was gathered, and with local intelligence and technical surveillance, and after dedicated efforts, the accused agent Sunil Thapa alias Raj (28), a resident of Village Butwal, Rupandehi district, Nepal, was apprehended from one of his hideouts in Delhi on the basis of the information provided by the arrested passenger.
During sustained interrogation, Thapa confessed his guilt and revealed that he had studied up to the 7th grade and that some of his friends were working as agents who deceived people under the pretense of sending them abroad. He admitted that he started working with them on a commission basis.
Thapa further disclosed that he, along with his associates, arranged a fake Hong Kong visa for Gurung’s journey in exchange for Rs 1 lakh. The investigation is ongoing to uncover the involvement of other associates, scrutinize the bank accounts of the accused, and trace any possible connections to other similar complaints or cases.
(INPUTS WITH ANI)
MUST READ: MEA Prioritizes Bangladeshi People’s Interests, Seeks Quick Restoration Of Law And Order
