The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Fake visa racket busted, eight persons arrested

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 03, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Fake visa racket busted, eight persons arrested

Staff Reporter

Rs. 50,000, vehicles and cellphones seized

CHENNAI: The Central Crime Branch of the city police on Sunday arrested eight persons on charges of cheating people to the tune of Rs. 15 lakh using fake visa documents. According to the police, complainant Mohammed Imthias from Anna Nagar approached them saying that the visa he procured through one Justin Arokiaraj by paying Rs. 3 lakh was fake. Based on the complaint, the police arrested Justin and seven others who have been apparently involved in luring, preparing and selling fake visa documents to nearly 20 people.

The police said Justin's father William Joseph Martin and his wife Mary, were the kingpins of the operation. The duo apparently lured people by promising to procure work visas to Australia, Italy and France.

According to officials, Justin and Sundar, another accused, were in the forefront by bringing in people and collecting up to Rs. 3 lakh. The money changed hands to reach the other accused — Sudhir, Kesavram, Abdul Khader, Satish Kumar, Chinnaiyyan and Venkatesh.

Officials said, after collecting the money, the work of preparing fake documents was given to Chinnaiyyan and Venkatesh. While Chinnaiyyan, who runs an STD booth in Vadapalani, had downloaded and kept the necessary details, the final touches to the documents were given by Venkatesh, a DTP operator.

The complainant Mr. Imthias alerted the police after his friend, who had also procured a visa from Justin, found out that the document was fake from the Australian High Commission in New Delhi. While Justin was picked up from a city hotel, his parents were absconding.

Police said they recovered Rs. 50,000 and seized cellphones and vehicles from the accused.

Held on cheating charge

The Central Crime Branch on Sunday arrested a retired government official on charges of cheated a woman to the tune of Rs. 1.5 lakh by promising to marry her. According to the police, the complainant from Seth Colony in Egmore approached the authorities after coming to know that her 48-year-old fiancé was not working with the Southern Railways, as he had claimed.

The accused, Parthasarathy, had approached the woman after she placed a matrimonial advertisement in 2005. He got engaged to the woman, took money from her on various occasions.

Later, the woman got suspicious and checked with the officials at the Central Station, where she was told that Parthasarathy had taken voluntary retirement in 2002. The woman approached the police, who found out that the accused was married to three other women, residing in various parts of the city, and had five children.

The accused has been remanded to custody.

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