Chandigarh:
Eleven people were arrested in Haryana on Tuesday for allegedly sending people abroad by fraudulent means, Home Minister Anil Vij said.
The move came days after FIRs were registered following claims by most of the 76 Haryana residents who were deported from the US that they were victims of human trafficking.
Police conducted raids in various districts and arrested the 11 people. A car and cash worth Rs 10.52 lakh were seized from their possession, Vij said in a statement.
A case has been registered against them under various sections. As many as 139 FIRs have also been registered so far, he said.
The 76 Haryana residents who were deported from the US were part of a group of over 160 Indians who arrived in Amritsar, Punjab, on a special chartered flight on May 19.
Most of the deported Indian nationals had entered the US from its southern border with Mexico after exhausting all legal options. They were arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement while trying to enter the US illegally.
FIRs were also registered on the complaints of most of those deported from the US after they claimed that they were victims of human trafficking.
Vij asserted that crimes like immigration fraud and “kabootarbazi” (human trafficking) would be eradicated from the state, and a special investigation team (SIT) had been constituted recently to monitor and investigate such cases.
The team, headed by an inspector general of police., consists of six superintendents of police-level officers.
“This team will investigate the immigration fraudsters who dupe youngsters of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of sending them abroad,” he said.
