Airport cop, Jet staffer chargesheeted for human trafficking

A Jet Airways employee, a Delhi police officer and an immigration officer have been charge sheeted for allegedly running a "human trafficking" racket.

The Special Cell of police filed the charges heeted in a court here against Immigration officer Chaman Azhar, Jet Airways staff Manoj Sarpal and Police Sub-Inspector Naveen Chandra alias Rajiv, indicting them for allegedly facilitating travel of passengers on forged passports and immigration stamps.

The three have been accused of committing offences of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code and also offences under the Passports Act.

In its charge sheet filed in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vidya Parkash, the Special Cell said the fraud was detected after a woman Navdeep Kaur, also an accused in the case, travelling on Jet Airways flight to Toronto was deported from Brussels as she was found travelling on a fake passport.

Kaur was travelling on a passport issued in the name of one Asha Panigrahi, who told police during questioning that the fake passport was arranged by one Manveer, who had met her at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib here and proposed that he can arrange the passport for her for Rs 6 lakh.

The charge sheet said on March 28 last year, Manveer dropped her at IGI Airport where Manoj contacted her, gave her a passport in the name of Asha Panigrahi, carrying a Jet Airways security sticker and also a boarding pass.

Manoj then took the passport to Azhar who endorsed the immigration stamp on it and the boarding pass and provided another boarding pass of Air India to Kaur. Manoj then escorted her through domestic channel to the desired flight.

Kaur was, however, intercepted in Brussels, which was the transit of her flight.

Thereafter, Manoj was also arrested. He disclosed that he, in connivance with Azhar, sent Kaur abroad and that he has till date facilitated the travel of eight such passengers. He also disclosed that Azhar had approached him with the proposal to clear passengers on fake documents in lieu of Rs 50,000 per passenger.

On his interrogation, Azhar told police that he "cleared passengers at the behest of one Naveen Upadhyaya, who lured him with money and also asked him to involve an airlines official in human trafficking on false documents."

The charge sheet said the enquiry revealed Upadhyaya was once posted as personal security officer (PSO) at Lieutenant Governor house here.

The police has registered four different FIRs in the matter and has filed separate charge sheets in each of them.