KIA officials catch three with fake visa stamps

Immigration officials separately caught three Indians who landed in Kempagowda International Airport (KIA) from Kuala Lampur with fake visas.

Arashdeep Singh (20) and Lakshvir Singh from Punjab, flew to Malaysia on tourist visas but stayed illegally there for ten months to work.

The duo said they paid Rs 2.5 lakh in total to a Punjabi agent who secured them a tourist visa and they met a contact in Malaysia who employed them as security guards for ten months. As they worked without salary, they found themselves in a financial crunch and decided to return.

Officials said the two men paid 4700 Malaysian Ringgits to get their visas stamped to return to India. The visas had already expired.

During the clearance process, immigration officials found the fake visa stamps and booked the duo under various sections of the Passport Act. The men were remanded to judicial custody.

In a separate incident, officials arrested 29-year-old Aravind Kumar from Uttar Pradesh who said an agent had cheated him. Kumar said the agent got Rs 1.5 lakh to get a tourist visa and a contact in Malaysia.

After getting to Malaysia, Kumar worked as a labourer at a factory without a salary. His employer refused to hand his passport when he wanted to return. Taking help from a few locals, Kumar approached the Indian embassy and obtained an emergency certificate stating he lost his passport.

Kumar confessed that he borrowed 2,500 Malaysian Ringgits to pay a local agent and got the visa stamped. Officials in Bengaluru found the stamps to be fake during immigration clearance. International Airport police are probing the matter further.