2 AI staffers held for human trafficking

Two employees of national carrier Air India and an airlines agent have been arrested by the crime branch of Mumbai Police for allegedly misusing their free ticket quotas to send two women to the US by passing them off as their wives.

The vigilance department of Air India suspects the case may be the tip of the iceberg and could lead to the unravelling of a larger human trafficking racket. Those arrested have been identified as Deepak Salvi, 41, an office superintendent and resident of Mira Road; Hemant Morade, 40, an operator with Air India and a resident of Air India Colony, Kalina, and Ejaz Ansari, an airlines agent.

Air India employees, from helper to director, are entitled to two free tickets and three tickets at 95% discount annually. Employees usually take their families abroad on these tickets. Though it is difficult to get US visas, airline staff can get them easily, a crime branch officer said.

The officer, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, said in September 2007 Salvi went to the US with his ‘wife’ Sucheta.

Hunt on for kingpin

Two Air India employees have been arrested for allegedly misusing their free tickets quota to take two women to the US by forging the passports of their wives. Deepak Salvi took a woman with him to the US by passing her off as his wife. While he returned a few days later, the woman did not. In April 2008, Hemant Morade went to the US with his ‘wife’ Mandakini, returning alone in the first week of May.

The US consulate got suspicious after both men returned without their wives and asked Air India’s vigilance department to inquire into the cases. In December 2008, the department initiated a discreet inquiry and furnished the passport details of Salvi and Morade to the consulate with original photographs of their wives.

The consulate found that the photographs did not match those on the passports shown at the time of departure for the US. Subsequently, Air India’s vigilance department conducted a check at the residences of Salvi and Morade, and found their wives were home.

On February 10, the consulate registered a complaint with the crime branch. The case was then handed over to the social service branch (SSB) for further investigation. The duo was arrested on February 25. Police claimed that they have confessed their guilt.
The wives told the police the men lied to them, saying they were being sent to New Delhi on duty.

The duo has reportedly told the police that they got Rs3 lakh each from alleged kingpin Imtiaz Maradia. Airlines agent Ansari, said to be an aide of Maradia, was arrested from Madanpura near Mumbai Central on Tuesday.Police are now on the lookout for Maradia, who is said to own a stable in Dahisar (E).

Explaining Maradia’s modus operandi, the crime branch officer said he used the services of a person only once. “Maradia got in touch with Salvi through a common friend. Salvi roped in Morade,” he said. Police suspect Maradia may have used more people in the racket.

The officer said the employees pasted photos of the women they were taking abroad on the original passports of their wives. On returning, they applied for new passports for their wives, claiming that the originals had been damaged or were lost.

Efforts are on to trace the women who belong to the Patel community from Mehsana in Gujarat. While Salvi and Morade are in judicial custody till April 6, Ansari has been remanded in police custody till April 2.