Patiala Police arrests a travel agent, case registered against four agents

Newspunjab

15 feb 2025

As part of the ongoing crackdown against fraudulent immigration consultants, the NRI Affairs Wing of Punjab Police has arrested travel agent Anil Batra, one of the four accused in the illegal immigration scam case. The arrest was made by the Patiala NRI Police Station Head Inspector Abhay Singh Chauhan, led by SP NRI Affairs Gurbans Singh Bains, on the directions of a 4-member SIT led by ADGP NRI Affairs Praveen Sinha. Anil Batra was arrested by the Patiala Police from his in-laws’ house in Pratap Nagar. A case was registered against him on February 8, 2025 under sections 406, 420, 370, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 24 of the Immigration Act.

Batra is accused of facilitating illegal immigration by arranging a Suriname visa and ticket. The victim, Gurvinder Singh, was taken to other South American countries, such as Brazil or Colombia, where he crossed into Central America. In Central America, he traveled through countries like Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. From here, he illegally entered the United States with the help of smugglers. As of February 14, 2025, Anil Batra’s bank account has been frozen with a balance of Rs. 635136.10.