Indian authorities have arrested a journey agent accused of forging the coed visa paperwork of dozens of worldwide college students who’re at the moment dealing with removing orders from Canada because of misrepresentation of their purposes.
A spokesperson for the Police Commissionerate at Jalandhar, Punjab, confirmed with The Fifth Property that Rahul Bhargava, of the agency Schooling and Migration Providers, was arrested and that they’re nonetheless on the lookout for his companions, Brijesh Mishra and Gurnam Singh. They face a number of costs beneath India’s legal, penal and administrative codes.
The Fifth Property obtained three FIRs (First Info Reviews) from the Police Commissionerate that had been registered after a number of complaints from the dad and mom of the scholars.
One of many dad and mom, Baldev Raj from Nakodar, Jalandhar, informed The Fifth Property that along with making ready a pretend acceptance letter from Sheridan Faculty with out their information, the agent, Brijesh Mishra, cheated him out of $14,000, which was presupposed to cowl two semesters of tuition on the Ontario faculty for his daughter.
He mentioned when his daughter reached Canada, Mishra informed her to not go to Sheridan till additional discover. They waited for 2 weeks, however there was no response from Mishra, and after they tried to contact him, he by no means returned their calls.
When Raj inquired about his daughter’s registration at Sheridan Faculty in Brampton, Ont., with the assistance of his buddy in Canada, he discovered that his daughter was by no means registered there. He later came upon that Mishra had by no means made any funds to the faculty and had stored the entire quantity.
“Mishra defrauded me and my daughter,” Raj mentioned. “Not solely did he rip us off, however the way forward for my daughter is in darkish due to him.”
Raj mentioned his daughter later enrolled in Cambrian at Hanson, a Toronto college linked to Cambrian Faculty, and he paid one other $14,000 for her tuition, however he by no means obtained a refund from the agent for the Sheridan Faculty tuition.
His daughter is now dealing with a removing order issued by the Canada Border Providers Company because of using a pretend letter of acceptance in her preliminary scholar visa software.
‘We’re victims, not culprits’
Mishra has been accused of duping dozens of worldwide college students who at the moment are dealing with removing orders from Canada.
The scholars protested exterior the Immigration and Refugee Board in Toronto on Thursday to struggle to stay in Canada, holding indicators that learn, “Cease Sufferer Blaming,” “We’re Victims of Fraud,” “We’re Victims, not Culprits,” “Unite In opposition to Deportation” and “Wake Up Canadian Authorities.”
Among the many college students who had been protesting, Ranbir Singh from Gurdaspur, Punjab, informed The Fifth Property that Mishra additionally cheated him out of $14,000, the quantity that ought to have gone towards his first-year tuition at Algonquin Faculty of Utilized Arts and Expertise in Ottawa.
Singh mentioned that following his arrival in Canada in September 2018, Mishra knowledgeable him that the faculty was full for the semester and that he wouldn’t be capable to pursue his research there.
He mentioned he personally went to Algonquin to inquire about his admission, however the faculty could not confirm his registration.
Singh mentioned he additionally confirmed his letter of acceptance to a employees member on the entrance desk, however they could not work out that it was a pretend letter at the moment and as a substitute suggested him to talk to his agent.
“I questioned and argued, however as a substitute of informing me concerning the fraudulent doc, they suggested me to return to the identical one that perpetrated this fraud,” he mentioned.
Singh then enrolled at Mohawk Faculty of Utilized Arts and Expertise in Hamilton and paid one other $14,000 for the primary 12 months of his training. However he mentioned he did not obtain any refund from the agent for his fee to Algonquin Faculty, and Mishra stopped answering his telephone calls.
The deputy commissioner of Jalandhar, Punjab, cancelled the licence for Mishra’s agency, Schooling and Migration Providers, on March 21, alleging the corporate was concerned in legal exercise.
The case is at the moment being investigated by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate.
In the meantime, the Canada Border Providers Company (CBSA) confirmed that there are a variety of lively Immigration and Refugee Safety Act (IRPA) investigations into instances of misrepresentation, together with these associated to check permits.
“Individuals who misrepresent themselves and/or use fraudulent documentation to hunt entry to Canada or to stay in Canada are contravening IRPA and threat being faraway from Canada,” the CBSA mentioned in an announcement.
“The CBSA is answerable for investigating allegations of violations of the Customs Act and the IRPA, specializing in advanced instances involving organized fraudulent exercise, or a historical past of non-compliance, and primarily concentrating on the organizers, facilitators and perpetrators of the crimes and who pose a menace to the integrity of Canada’s border laws.”
