Mohali: Mohali police have arrested four persons in two separate immigration fraud cases involving allegations of cheating people on the promise of sending them abroad. Three accused were arrested in a Phase 11 case linked to a fake immigration office, while the owner of an immigration firm was held in a separate Rs 4.16 lakh fraud case.In the Phase 11 case, police arrested Mandeep Singh of Kurali, Pankaj Kumar of Himachal Pradesh and Prashant Kumar of Mataur for allegedly duping people through Bright Way Immigration on the pretext of arranging travel to New Zealand.The case was registered on the complaint of Ronak Barot, who alleged that she and her sister, Gyan Barot, paid around Rs 3.5 lakh to the accused for immigration services. When the family sought a refund after suspecting fraud, the accused allegedly misbehaved with them and switched off their phones.DSP (City-2) Harsimran Singh Bal said a case has been registered against eight accused under the BNS and Section 24 of the Immigration Act. The three arrested accused were produced before a court and remanded in police custody for two days. Police are probing the money trail, company records and the possibility of other victims, while efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused.In the second case, the operation cell arrested Amarjit Singh, owner of Visa Palace in Phase 3A, in connection with an alleged Rs 4.16 lakh immigration fraud registered at Mataur police station.Police said an FIR had been lodged against Amarjit Singh and seven employees and associates for allegedly cheating a person in the name of providing immigration services. He was traced and arrested by the operation cell after allegedly attempting to evade arrest.A court sent Amarjit Singh to three-day police remand. Mataur SHO Inspector Aman Chauhan said investigators are examining financial transactions, documents and the alleged role of other persons linked to the case.Police added that Amarjit Singh had also been named in a human trafficking and immigration fraud case registered by the state crime cell in 2024.
