New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Wednesday busted an interstate fake visa and overseas job racket that allegedly duped hundreds of job seekers with promises of lucrative employment in countries such as Russia and Turkey, officials said. Three accused persons have been arrested, and several incriminating items, including victims’ passports, have been recovered.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Salauddin Mansuri alias Haider Khan (38), a resident of Bihar’s Siwan; Mohd. Shahzad (34), a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Sahibabad (Ghaziabad); and Kaushar (32), a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar.
According to officials, the operation was carried out by a Crime Branch team led by Inspector Sanjay Kaushik of Prashant Vihar’s Northern Range-I.
The team had been working on specific intelligence inputs regarding a fake visa racket involved in cheating job seekers under the pretext of overseas placements, officials added.
Through sustained fieldwork, technical surveillance, and ground verification, the movements and activities of the accused were closely tracked.
Further inputs were developed by Sub-Inspector Narender Singh, including crucial details about one of the victims.
Acting on credible information, a raiding team comprising Sub-Inspector Narender Singh, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Virender Singh, ASI Hukam Chand, Head Constable Sanjeev Jakhar, Constable Vivek Rana, and Constable Annu was constituted under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ashok Sharma.
The team conducted a coordinated raid near Netaji Subhash Place in Delhi’s Pitampura, and successfully apprehended the accused.
Police investigations revealed detailed profiles of the accused and their roles within the syndicate, officials said.
Salauddin Mansuri alias Haider Khan, is a Class 12 dropout who previously worked in export and insurance companies in Noida but turned to crime after failing to earn sufficiently through legitimate means.
Lured by the promise of quick money by the alleged mastermind Md. Munna, Salauddin Mansuri became a key operative working on a 40 per cent commission.
Salauddin Mansuri posed as an HR Manager of a fictitious Kolkata-based firm named “Saba Enterprises” and acted as the primary point of contact for victims. The police recovered two Indian passports, two mobile phones, and an Aadhaar card bearing his alias from his possession.
Kaushar, also a dropout, earlier worked as a mechanic but suffered a severe accident in 2014 that limited his ability to continue heavy work. After returning from Saudi Arabia, where he worked between 2022 and 2024, he reconnected with co-accused Shahzad and joined the syndicate.
His role involved recruiting victims from Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, collecting their documents, and communicating through temporary or fake SIM cards. He confessed to cheating at least nine victims and was aware of the group’s plan to disappear after collecting money. Police recovered two passports, three mobile phones, and multiple identification and debit cards from him.
Mohd. Shahzad, a Class 6 dropout, had previously worked as a tailor and in a pathology lab and had also been associated with companies such as Sahara India. He had been jailed in connection with a case in 2020 and was later drawn into the racket by the mastermind’s easy-money scheme. His role involved bringing in clients and sharing the proceeds of crime. One passport and two mobile phones containing chats with the absconding mastermind were recovered from him.
The modus operandi of the racket was sophisticated and deceptive, officials added.
The accused would post advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp Business, offering high-paying foreign jobs.
Interested candidates were redirected to their communication channels, where they were asked to send their passports via courier.
Using scanned copies of the passports, the accused created forged visa documents for countries like Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan by digitally adding fake visa stamps. These were then sent to victims along with tentatively booked or already cancelled air tickets. To enhance credibility, fake online verification links were also provided.
Victims, convinced of the authenticity of the documents, transferred large sums of money for visa processing and job placement.
The fraud came to light only when victims realised that their physical passports did not carry any visa stamps and that the airline tickets had been automatically cancelled due to non-payment. By then, the accused had already switched off their phones and vanished.
Police said the accused frequently changed locations and operated under different company names across cities such as Kolkata, Gorakhpur, Noida, and Patna to evade detection. The syndicate functioned in a coordinated manner, with members assigned specific roles, including sourcing clients, preparing forged documents, and handling financial transactions.
During the operation, police recovered five original Indian passports belonging to victims, seven mobile phones containing fake visa documents, job letters, and e-tickets, along with cash and multiple identification and debit cards. Some digital records related to other potential victims are currently under verification.
A case has been registered under an FIR dated April 23, 2026, under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Crime Branch police station. All three accused have been produced before a Rohini court, and police have obtained a seven-day custody remand for further questioning.
Further investigation is underway to identify additional victims and accomplices, trace financial transactions, and apprehend the main accused, Md. Munna, who remains absconding.
(IANS)
