New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) Three men, including an MBA graduate, were arrested for allegedly providing fake employment visa by impersonating representatives of a company that helps individuals get such facility, police said on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Ritesh Tiwari (28), Chandan Baranwal (26), and Azad Pratap Rao (23), all residents of Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, they said.

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A case was registered on the complaint of Anand Singh, a consultant at VFS Global, which is a visa outsourcing and technology services firm, a senior police officer said.

The complainant alleged that two people, through social media platforms, falsely represented themselves as VFS officials. They issued forged visa appointment letters in exchange for large sums of money from applicants, the officer said.

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The accused misused the VFS logo in their online profiles and communicated with victims via fraudulent email IDs, the officer said.

During investigation, it was found that the accused were using the VFS logo in their online profiles by claiming themselves to be the authorised representatives of the firm and assuring of providing all the visa related services, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Sanjay Bhatia said.

They were charging hefty amounts from the visa seekers, he said.

The accused used to contact the needy people for visa appointment letter through social media and tell them that they will provide the letter for every category, he said.

They targeted the people who needed employment visa appointment as it is difficult to get, Bhatia said.

The trio used to induce people and get the money transferred in different accounts. They take the visa appointment letter of tourist/business category and edit it into employment category before sending to the victims, he said.

Details of six social media accounts used by the accused were obtained. It was found that a number of SIM cards in the name of different people was used for those accounts, Bhatia said.

Baranwal, having fake name Parveen Sahoo, was apprehended from UP on November 6. He revealed that he was aided by Tiwari and Rao, police said.

Baranwal and Tiwari collaborated to alter genuine appointment letters and change visa categories, while Rao provided bank account details where the defrauded money was transferred. Both Tiwari and Rao were subsequently arrested, Bhatia stated.

According to police, Tiwari has an MBA degree from Gorakhpur in UP. He earlier worked in a company engaged in immigration consultancy at Bhikaji Cama Palace here.

Baranwal has a good knowledge of computer. He would edit or forge the visa appointment letters and sent them to the victims, police said, adding that Rao is a diploma holder in optometry and runs his shop at Kushinagar.

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