Ahmedabad, Aug 8 (IANS) Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested four accused for their alleged involvement in a bogus visa racket that defrauded multiple individuals under the pretense of securing employment-based visas for Luxembourg.
The accused -- Mayank Jitendra Bhardwaj, Tejendra alias Kishan Gajjar, Manish alias Kumar Hargovindbhai Patel, and Tabrez Gulam Rasool Kashmiri -- were found to be running an organized operation involving forged documents, fake job offers, and fraudulent visa stickers on passports.
The arrests come as part of an intensified surveillance operation instructed by senior ATS officials to combat organized white-collar crime in the state. The operation came to light when ATS Police Inspector P. B. Desai received intelligence about a network issuing fake visas to job seekers. Under the direction of Superintendent of Police K. Siddharth and Deputy SP Harsh Upadhyay, a special investigative team was formed.
Acting on the tip-off, the team summoned Bhardwaj and Gajjar for questioning at the ATS office in Ahmedabad. During questioning, the duo confessed to collecting large sums from individuals in exchange for Luxembourg visas, which turned out to be entirely fabricated.
According to the ATS report -- RS 9.5 lakh was taken from Himanshu Bhavsar, Rs 12 lakh from Archit Patel, Rs 8 lakh each from Nilesh Patel and Sanjay Parmar.
Visas were arranged and stickers affixed to passports by Manish Patel with the help of Tabrez Kashmiri, a Mumbai-based accomplice
The visas were allegedly valid between May and September 2025, but on verification, the Luxembourg Embassy in Delhi confirmed that none of these documents were authentic. In fact, earlier applications from these individuals had been rejected due to fake job offer letters.
Further digital forensics conducted on the accused's mobile phones revealed that at least 39 more individuals had been issued similar fake visas through this racket. The scale of the operation suggests a well-coordinated interstate scam, possibly with wider connections beyond Gujarat and Maharashtra. Based on the findings, an FIR was registered on August 7, 2025, under FIR No. 08/2025 at the ATS Police Station.
The accused have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, including Sections 318(3), 336(2), 336(3), 337, 338, 61, and 54, which deal with forgery, criminal conspiracy, and cheating.
With job offer fraud and fake document scams on the rise, law enforcement agencies have been urged to tighten verification processes and crack down on unauthorised visa agents operating under the radar.
The Gujarat ATS has confirmed that the investigation is far from over. Authorities are now working to identify additional victims, trace financial transactions, and uncover the full extent of the network. More arrests are likely in the coming weeks.
--IANS
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