Daijiworld Media Network – Vadodara
Vadodara, Apr 27: A woman from Vadodara’s Diwalipura area has filed a police complaint after allegedly being duped of Rs 5.61 lac by a visa agent who failed to deliver on promises of securing foreign visas for her family.
The incident has been registered at JP Road Police Station against Deepak Agarwal, the accused. According to the complaint lodged by Bhumika Raseshwar Purohit, a resident of Maa Smriti Society, the ordeal began in August 2022 when she and her husband sought assistance for studying abroad.
The couple approached Landmark Consultant, an office located on Juna Padra Road, where they met Agarwal, who posed as a visa agent. He assured them of arranging a student visa for Bhumika and dependent visas for her husband and daughter, charging Rs 25,000 for processing apart from university and visa fees.
Trusting his promises, the family made multiple payments between 2023 and 2024, amounting to Rs 5.36 lac through cash and online transfers. Agarwal had promised to complete the process by December 2022. However, despite the lapse of time, no visas were issued. Repeated demands for a refund were allegedly met with threats and intimidation.
In August 2024, when Bhumika once again demanded her money back, Agarwal reportedly told her to "do whatever she wanted," refusing to return the funds. Frustrated and feeling cheated, she approached JP Road Police, who have now registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.
Visa fraud cases have been on the rise in Gujarat, witnessing a sharp 113 percent increase between 2020–21 and 2022–23. As per government data, 139 complaints of visa-related cheating were filed during this period, resulting in losses of Rs 74.15 lac. Despite 114 arrests, several accused remain absconding.
Vadodara and Ahmedabad have emerged as hotspots for such fraudulent activities, recording 31 and 26 cases respectively. Most scams revolve around fake promises of employment or education opportunities abroad, especially targeting destinations like the United States and Canada.
In a major crackdown, Gujarat police recently raided 17 immigration consultancy firms across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara, seizing passports, forged documents, and electronic equipment as part of the investigation.