Punjab Police committed to making the state safe and secure under CM Bhagwant Singh Mann’s direction.
DGP Gaurav Yadav: Arrested people deceptively sent many people to Cambodia, where they are compelled to work as cyber slaves.
According to ADGP V Neeraja, more investigation is being conducted to identify other such travel agents.
The ADGP Cybercrime Division advises travelers to be wary of travel agents who offer lucrative job opportunities overseas.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav announced here on Wednesday that two travel agents were detained by Punjab Police’s Cyber Crime Division for engaging in the illegal trafficking of individuals from the Punjab to Cambodia and other South East Asian countries, as part of the ongoing effort to make Punjab a safe and secure state in accordance with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s directives.
The people who were taken into custody were Gurjodh Singh and Amarjeet Singh, the owners of Visa Palace Immigration in Mohali.
The material provided indicates that the detained travel agents were enticing innocent individuals from Punjab to Cambodia with the promise of well-paying data entry employment. Upon arriving in Siam Reap, Cambodia, they were compelled to work at cyber-scamming call centers, where they were subjected to torture and threats in order to deceive Indian individuals into committing cyber-financial scams.
DGP Gaurav Yadav stated that the State Cyber Crime Police Station filed a first information report (FIR) and began investigating the matter in response to the victim’s allegation. The victim was able to flee Cambodia after contacting the Indian Embassy there. At Police Station State Cyber Crime, a case FIR No. 19 had been filed in accordance with sections 370, 406, 420, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 24 of the Immigration Act.
According to him, initial findings indicate that the defendants have deceitfully dispatched numerous individuals to Cambodia and other Southeast Asian nations, where they are coerced into labor at facilities involved in the cyber scam of Indians. He said that information about those involved in cyber slavery is being gathered, and relationships with them and their families are being formed.
Further information was provided by ADGP Cyber Crime Division V Neeraja, who stated that both of the accused were taken into custody during a raid at the Visa Palace immigration office by State Cyber Crime police teams under the command of Inspector Deepak Bhatia.
According to her, the accused have further disclosed that they were engaging in unlawful activity with the cooperation of other agents from several states. According to her, more research is being done to find more of these travel agents and the people who help catch them.
The ADGP urged the public to be wary of these dishonest immigration practices and to resist falling for the traps of travel agencies that purport to offer lucrative employment prospects overseas, particularly in South-East Asian nations. She further urged not engaging in any illicit internet activity and contacting the Indian Embassy, as well as properly investigating the background of any potential employer, particularly when work is provided under the title of “Data entry operator.”
In the meanwhile, the Indian government’s Ministry of External Affairs has established an Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) as a one-stop shop for facilitation, offering the necessary support services to anyone looking to travel overseas for work. Currently, the OWRC has a toll-free helpline (1800113090) that is open 24/7 to provide emigrants and their families information based on their needs. If any other Punjabi citizen has been duped by this purported scheme, they can get additional assistance by contacting the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi by calling the State Cyber Crime Division’s helpline at 0172-2226258.