3 arrested in Gujarat for unauthorised biometric enrolment done of 28 people seeking visa for Canada

Ahmedabad, July 20

The Ahmedabad police have arrested three people, including two employees of a visa outsourcing firm, for carrying out unauthorised biometrics enrolment of 28 unsuspecting visa applicants wanting to migrate to Canada, an official said.

Based on a complaint given by VFS Global, a visa outsourcing and technology services firm having its centre on Ashram Road here, the police crime branch on July 16 registered a case against four people – Melvyn Christy, Sohil Dewan, Mehul Bharwad and an unidentified man.

While Christy and Dewan work at VFS Global’s visa application centre in Ahmedabad, Bharwad is a former employee of the firm. They were booked on the charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy, police said.

Following an investigation, the city crime branch on Wednesday arrested Christy, Dewan and Bharwad, the police said in a release.

As per the procedure, Canadian visa applicants are required to give their biometric information, such as fingerprints, at the VFS Global’s visa application centres only after getting an appointment letter or biometric instruction letter, the police said.

On July 5, the Canadian High Commission, through an email, informed the company that it had received biometric data of 28 people from VFS Global’s visa application centre in Ahmedabad, but appointment letters to these persons were never issued by the Canadian authorities.

After going through the CCTV cameras of the centre, the company officials learnt Christy and Dewan carried out the biometric enrolment of the 28 people without the knowledge of the officials, the police said.

It was also revealed that the 28 people were given forged appointment letters because the official data of the company did not reflect the names of these persons.

Following the arrest of the trio, it was revealed that Bharwad, who works for an immigration agent, had approached the two VFS Global employees with an offer to carry out biometric enrolment of 28 people sans enrolment letters, and offered to give Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per person, the crime branch said.

Christy and Dewan called these 28 people on different dates and enrolled their biometrics without any valid documents. To dodge the security set-up, the duo used to take these persons inside the office from other entry points instead of the main entry door, said the release.

Talking to reporters, Prabuddha Sen, Chief Operating Officer (South Asia), VFS Global, said the 28 people were duped by the agent because they were under the impression that the appointment letters given by the agent were altered using software.

“The agent gave them a forged letter to claim their applications for Canada immigration have moved forward and now they need to give their biometric data at their centre,” he said.

This is another incident of unsuspecting visa applicants falling prey to fraudulent or grey operators who are taking advantage of the high demand for outbound travel from India, he said.

Sen said the company had hired the services of former IPS officer Muktesh Chander to keep a tab on such activities.

A day after the FIR was registered, a man approached the VFS Global office here saying he was among the 28 people who had given biometrics as instructed by his immigration agent, said Chander.

“The visa applicant told us he was not aware the appointment letter was not genuine. He told us he had already paid Rs 15 lakh to the agent and the latter has been demanding more. We told him that at least he would not lose more as the scam had been unearthed,” he said.