Many of the persons involved in the human trafficking case had been smuggled out of the country on tatkal passports issued in their names, police investigations revealed.
Many of the persons involved in the human trafficking case had been smuggled out of the country on tatkal passports issued in their names, police investigations have revealed. All the embassies concerned have been alerted, police said.
Police are also keeping an eye on anti-social elements in the city to find out whether more cases like these have been reported elsewhere in South India. Over 500 persons were ‘exported’ to foreign countries through fake visas and travel documents, police said, adding that investigating officers, including deputy commissioner (North East) Basavaraj Malgatti and inspector Ratnakar Shetty, are investigating how the tatkal passport system has been exploited for the purpose.
“It has now been confirmed that the persons who went abroad without valid visas or work permits had used the easy solution of tatkal passports. Persons who apply for tatkal passports have to submit only their address proof, visa and training invitation by a company abroad.
The passport is issued within three to four days on the strength of these documents. By the time the police come for verification, the person might have already reached a foreign country – defeating the very purpose of verification. In most of the cases, the address given by the passport applicant turns out to be fake,” Ratnakar Shetty said.
He said that the persons, who were promised employment as illegal migrants in foreign countries, were asked to pay just Rs50,000 each for the visa. “The people behind the human trafficking racket utilised the services of rowdies, in case the persons who were promised visas revolted and demanded that their money be returned,” Malgatti said.
“There are six fake companies that indulge in human trafficking, and their addresses are non-existent. Most of these persons are smuggled to Canada and Japan on fake visas that invite them for training in various trades. Once they reach their destination, they simply disappear from the police radar,” Shetty said.
Recently, the US had come up with a way to identify and deport illegal migrants.
“Once a person is identified as an illegal migrant, he/she will be subjected to eye-scanning and fingerprint tests and then deported. After that, the immigration office of the country would block that citizen from entering the US again, based on the data,” an officer said.
Meanwhile, city police commissioner Shankar M Bidari is planning to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) once the alleged kingpin of the racket is nabbed.
Stating that Bangalore is the South Indian ‘headquarters’ for the human trafficking scam, police said that they have identified the kingpin and are waiting for the right time to arrest him. “We are watching his movements. He will be caught very soon,” the police officer said.
The police have arrested seven persons in the case. They were identified as Sayeed Iqbal alias Syed (28) of Kousarnagar; Wasim Pasha (24), Syed Ghouse Pasha (37) and Ilyas (43) from Rehamathnagar; Syed Akram (44) of TCM Royan Road in Chickpet; Siddiqui Hussein (37) of Memorial Street in New Bharathinagar
and Iqbal Ahmed (44) of Marappa Garden.
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