Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, August 25: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched a Ludhiana-based agent’s home on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into a case involving VISA fraud at the French Embassy.
Incriminating materials were found during the search. Additionally, from a bank locker in Ludhiana, cash worth roughly Rs 70.10 lakh (in the denomination of Rs 2000) was found.
The role of Balwinder Singh Bartia, based at Machhiwara, Ludhiana, in enabling the issuance of Schengen VISAs to the VISA applicants, also came to light during the investigation of the aforementioned case.
For obtaining a Schengen VISA from the French Embassy in New Delhi, it was reported that he demanded cash payments ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 45 lakh from each applicant.
On the basis of charges of Visa fraud at the French Embassy in New Delhi, the CBI had filed a case against six private individuals, including two who had formerly worked in the Visa department.
The two suspects, who were employed by the French Embassy in New Delhi’s visa department, are accused of plotting with others to commit Visa fraud between January 1 and May 6, 2022.
It was further claimed that as part of the conspiracy, applicants from Punjab and Jammu submitted fake and forged letters to the French Consulate General in Bengaluru in order to obtain entry visas so they could work for private companies in Port-Le-Havre, France. The letters were allegedly written by a private company with headquarters in Bengaluru.
Without the knowledge or consent of the Head of the Visa Department, Embassy of France, New Delhi, the aforementioned two officials in the Visa Department are accused of issuing Entry Visas in favour of three additional accused after receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50,000 per Visa upon being approached by the applicants.
Additionally, it was claimed that the two officers moved or destroyed files and records from the Visa Department after the Entry Visa had been issued.
Furthermore, it was stated that the accused handled a number of files, the majority of which were to individuals—young farmers or unemployed Punjabis who had not previously travelled—and that they had committed massive fraud in the Embassy’s visa department.
The accused’s premises were searched earlier in December 2022 at six different sites, including Delhi, Patiala, Gurdaspur and Jammu. Laptops, cell phones, suspicious passports and other incriminating items were discovered.
