Gang of fake travel agents kidnapped jobless rural men
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Once a person took the bait (of a job abroad), the gang members used to confine their clients in other countries or cities and extorted money from their family member.
SANJEEV KUMAR YADAV,
DCP (Special Cell)
NEW DELHI : The Delhi Police special cell on Thursday busted an interstate syndicate of fake travel agents who allegedly kidnapped unemployed persons after promising them jobs abroad and then extorted money from their families.
Two members of the gang, identified by their single names, Parsram and Sumit, were arrested on Tuesday from south Delhi’s Green Park area. Police said the two belong to Jind in Haryana and were wanted in kidnapping, extortion and murder cases registered in Punjab, Haryana, and Karnataka.
Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (special cell), said the gang has been operational across India and has agents in various states.
The gang is headed by one Sunil from Panipat in Haryana. The agents pose as travel agents and lure people from rural areas by promising to settle them abroad, said Yadav.
“Once a person took the bait, the gang members used to confine their clients in other countries or cities and extorted money from their family members,” said Yadav.
About a year ago, Yadav said, Sunil and his associates allegedly took four persons from Haryana to Thailand and kept them in confinement. “The four were tortured and later R32 lakh were extorted from their families,” said an investigator.
A case was registered at a police station in Ambala, Haryana. Sunil and his aide Pawan Gandhi, the local agent, were arrested while others went underground.
In December 2017, the gang members took two persons from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur to Bangalore via Mumbai, and detained and tortured them for money. One of the two, Surinder Pal Singh, expired after being thrashed mercilessly allegedly by the agents.
“Singh’s body was recovered from bushes and a case was registered at Ram Nagar police station in Bangalore. Another case of cheating and extortion was registered at a local police station in Hoshiarpur,” said the DCP.
According to Yadav, the arrested men have revealed that they had committed a similar crime in November last year when they took four persons to Guwahati, kidnapped them and later extorted R24 lakh from their family members. “The disclosure is being verified with the Assam police,” added Yadav.