Travel Guides & Articles

Fake visa scam busted, mastermind held in Surat | Latest News India

Published

4 days ago

September 2, 2025

Surat, Sept 2 Police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a fake visa scam by arresting an engineer from Surat who allegedly provided fake visa stickers of the UK, Canada, and other European countries to Delhi-based travel agents, an official said.

Fake visa scam busted, mastermind held in Surat

These meticulously-designed stickers were used by travel agents to dupe customers by claiming that their applications had been approved by the country concerned and visas delivered, according to a release issued by the Surat Police.

The accused, Pratik aka Abhijeet Shah, is a habitual offender facing 12 cases related to visa and passport fraud.

Special Operations Group personnel found an elaborate setup Shah had created to design and print a real-looking visa after raiding his flat in Rander area.

Police found a laptop, printer, and a cutting machine, five fake visas, a UV laser torch, an emboss machine, and over 500 pieces of blank papers with watermarks of the governments of the UK, Canada, Serbia, Macedonia, and other European nations, the release said.

Shah had imported these papers bearing watermarks using the Chinese application Alibaba.com. He used them to create an impression that the visa is a genuine one and issued by the respective country, said Deputy Commissioner of Police, SOG, Rajdeepsinh Nakum.

“Shah holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering and knows how to design software like CorelDRAW. He was in contact with some shoddy travel agents in Delhi involved in illegal immigration. When agents can’t secure a valid visa for their client, they used to contact Shah and ask him to create a fake visa,” said Nakum.

Shah used to charge ₹15,000 for creating a fake document, he said, and claimed that Shah had admitted to having created and delivered nearly 700 such visa stickers in ten years.

“The sticker used to give the impression of a genuine visa. The visa holder would realise that he was cheated after landing in the country of travel, the police officer said.

Police have sought information from Indian embassies in some countries to understand the number of travellers who were stopped for holding fake visas.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Source link

Up Next

Second edition of SITM–South India TRAVMART concludes successfully in Chennai

Don't Miss

Here’s My Guide to Visiting

The Editors

Click to comment

Travel Guides & Articles

Pakistan team to not travel to India for opening ceremony

Published

34 minutes ago

September 6, 2025

Sports Desk

Sports Desk

06 September 2025, 10:04 AM IST

Pakistan will play all their matches, including their clash against India on October 5th, in Colombo, Sri Lanka

File Photo | AP

New Delhi: Pakistan will not participate in the ICC Women’s World Cup opening ceremony scheduled to be held in Guwahati on September 30. The grand event will precede the tournament opener between India and Sri Lanka, who are co-hosting the competition. Indian singer Shreya Ghoshal is set to perform at the ceremony.

According to sources cited by Geo News, neither Pakistan captain Fatima Sana nor any representatives from Pakistan will travel to India for the opening ceremony. Pakistan’s absence appears linked to a recently adopted policy by both India and Pakistan during the buildup to the Champions Trophy, wherein the two nations agreed not to cross borders to compete against each other at ICC tournaments for the next three years.

Due to ongoing strained political relations, India has not toured Pakistan since 2008. Earlier this year, Pakistan hosted the Champions Trophy, but India refused to cross the border to participate because of the geopolitical situation between the two neighbours.

Consequently, Pakistan will play all of its World Cup fixtures at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Their campaign will begin against Bangladesh on October 2, with India and Pakistan scheduled to face off on October 5. Should Pakistan advance, Colombo will also host the semifinals and final later in October and November.

Pakistan secured their berth in the tournament by remaining unbeaten in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifiers, winning all five matches hosted on home soil.

Pakistan’s squad for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 includes captain Fatima Sana, vice-captain Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Sidra Nawaz, and others. Non-travelling reserves include Gull Feroza, Najiha Alvi, and Waheeda Akhtar.

With inputs from ANI

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Disclaimer: Kindly avoid objectionable, derogatory, unlawful and lewd comments, while responding to reports. Such comments are punishable under cyber laws. Please keep away from personal attacks. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of readers and not that of Mathrubhumi.

Source link

Travel Guides & Articles

5 best trekking trails India for every explorer – Times of India

Published

2 hours ago

September 6, 2025

TOI Lifestyle Desk

5 best trekking trails India for every explorer Times of India

Source link

Travel Guides & Articles

India visit of Taliban minister runs into travel waiver trouble | India News

Published

4 hours ago

September 6, 2025

The Editors

NEW DELHI: Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s planned visit to India is likely to be delayed with UNSC yet to grant him the waiver he needs to travel to India. While Afghan media reported that the Security Council denied a waiver to Muttaqi, sources said dates for the visit have not been finalised. Because of UN travel ban imposed on the Taliban leader, India needs to get approval from the Council to facilitate his travel. TOI had reported on Aug 28 that Muttaqi was likely to visit India soon.Indian govt sources had then denied reports that India had sought a waiver, saying it will approach UNSC to lift the travel ban only after the dates for his visit are finalised. This would have been the first visit by a Taliban leader to India, as India’s ties with the regime in Kabul improve on the back of considerable humanitarian aid that India is providing Kabul. A proposed visit by Muttaqi to Pakistan was earlier cancelled after the Council denied him waiver from travel ban.EAM S Jaishankar spoke to Muttaqi last week and condoled the loss of lives in the recent earthquake, while also announcing India’s decision to send relief material. Looking to build upon improvement in the relationship, foreign secretary Vikram Misri had met Muttaqi in Dubai in Jan and conveyed India’s readiness to respond to the urgent developmental needs of Afghan people.This was followed by the first political contact between the two sides as Jaishankar spoke to Muttaqi in May. TNN

Source link