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Deportation notices to 700 students: Licence of Jalandhar-based consultant cancelledByHT Correspondent, Jalandhar
Mar 21, 2023
The licence of the immigration consultant, who has been accused of allegedly providing fake documents to nearly 700 students facing deportation notices in Canada, was cancelled on Tuesday.
The licence of the immigration consultant, who has been accused of allegedly providing fake documents to nearly 700 students facing deportation notices in Canada, was cancelled on Tuesday
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The Canadian Border Security Agency issued deportation notices to at least 700 Indian students for allegedly providing fake offer letters. (REUTERS File Photo)
Informing this, deputy commissioner Jaspreet Singh said that action against Education and Migration Services has been taken under Sections 4 and 6 of the Punjab Travel Professional’s Regulation Act 2014, which invokes cancellation of the licence if a firm is found involved in any criminal activity.
An FIR has already been lodged against the firm’s owner Brijesh Mishra and his partner.
“Anyone not having a clean police record can never be permitted to do this business as it sends a wrong message to the public. Thereby, the licence issued to the above-mentioned consultancy is cancelled with immediate effect,” the DC said.
The Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) issued deportation notices to at least 700 Indian students for allegedly providing fake offer letters.
As per available information, the matter came to light when the students, most of them had moved to Canada in 2018, applied for their permanent residency.
After finding a few cases of misrepresentation, the CBSA cross-checked all the cases filed by this particular consultant and identified 700 students against whom deportation notices have been issued.
Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner issued directions to conduct thorough checking of immigration firms in the district.
“Special teams have been formed under the monitoring of SDMs to regularly check the activities of immigration consultants,” he said.
Informing this, deputy commissioner Jaspreet Singh said that action against Education and Migration Services has been taken under Sections 4 and 6 of the Punjab Travel Professional’s Regulation Act 2014, which invokes cancellation of the licence if a firm is found involved in any criminal activity.
An FIR has already been lodged against the firm’s owner Brijesh Mishra and his partner.
“Anyone not having a clean police record can never be permitted to do this business as it sends a wrong message to the public. Thereby, the licence issued to the above-mentioned consultancy is cancelled with immediate effect,” the DC said.
The Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) issued deportation notices to at least 700 Indian students for allegedly providing fake offer letters.
As per available information, the matter came to light when the students, most of them had moved to Canada in 2018, applied for their permanent residency.
After finding a few cases of misrepresentation, the CBSA cross-checked all the cases filed by this particular consultant and identified 700 students against whom deportation notices have been issued.
Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner issued directions to conduct thorough checking of immigration firms in the district.
“Special teams have been formed under the monitoring of SDMs to regularly check the activities of immigration consultants,” he said.
Canada deportation: Travel agent’s fake offer letter led to blacklisting of students in Punjab too
The police said the preliminary investigation revealed that Mishra, along with his accomplices Gurnam Singh and Bhargava, had cheated the man and his daughter by giving fake offer letters and other documents.
Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba
Jalandhar | Updated: March 20, 2023
The police said the preliminary investigation revealed that Mishra, along with his accomplices Gurnam Singh and Bhargava, had cheated the man and his daughter by giving fake offer letters and other documents. ((Express photo by Gajendra Yadav/Representative Image)
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At a time when 100s of Indian students are facing deportation in Canada because of fake offer letters provided to them by travel agent Brijesh Mishra and his partners, a few other students have been blacklisted for five years in Punjab by the Canadian government for the same reason – submitting fake offer letter in the Canadian Embassy provided by the same agent.
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At a time when 100s of Indian students are facing deportation in Canada because of fake offer letters provided to them by travel agent Brijesh Mishra and his partners, a few other students have been blacklisted for five years in Punjab by the Canadian government for the same reason – submitting fake offer letter in the Canadian Embassy provided by the same agent.
After one such case came to light, Jalandhar police registered a case against Brijesh Mishra, a resident of Thalwada, Darbhanga, Bihar, his accomplice Gurnam Singh, resident of Cheema Nagar Extension and Rahul Bhargava, a resident of Kabir Avenue (Laddewali).
Mishra was sending students to Canada on study visa using his registered and licenced consultancy namely ‘Education Migration Services’ in Jalandhar. He, however, came into limelight after students, who he had sent to Canada from 2018 onwards received deportation letters in Canada.
The police said more such victims could emerge as the investigation progresses.
A case has been registered in police division-6 under sections 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of the IPC against Mishra and his accomplices and the investigation has been handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.
According to complainant Jagraj Singh of Ferozpur district, after completing BSc, his daughter wished to go to Canada for further studies and they contacted the consultancy in 2018 and met Mishra.
After checking the girl’s documents, Mishra promised to send her to Canada and a deal was finalised for Rs 17 lakh. Mishra got the offer letter, but the student did not like the college. Mishra then assured them that an offer letter will be procured from another college, said the complainant, adding that they got the new offer letter after paying Rs 65,000.
“…on March 18, 2019, [the girl] got a mail from Mishra’s office that her visa had arrived and asked them to get the payment of Rs 15.25 lakh ready,” the father said in the FIR. However, after scrutiny, the offer letter was found to be fake and the embassy not only cancelled her visa but also blacklisted the girl for five years. It was found that the fee amount was also not deposited with the college, said the complainant.
As per the FIR, following this, Mishra stopped taking their calls and even started threatening him with dire consequences if he talked about it to anyone else.
The police said the preliminary investigation revealed that Mishra, along with his accomplices Gurnam Singh and Bhargava, had cheated the man and his daughter by giving fake offer letters and other documents.
Deputy Commissioner (Jalandhar) Jaspreet Singh issued a show-cause notice to Education Migration Services, which was registered in Jalandhar. He also suspended the consultancy’s licence and asked Bhargava to appear in person at his office on March 20.
Similar instances of fake offer letters have jeopardised the future of several Indian students in Canada who now face deportation from Canada or have been blacklisted from entering that country for five years.
Charandeep Sandhu, former sarpanch of Baggewala village in Ferozepur district, told Pendu Punjabi Channel in Canada that two sons of his relatives were also banned for five years after an Amritsar-based travel agent issued them fake offer letters in 2019.
He added that though an FIR was registered against the agent which led to him being jailed for seven months, the students continue to pay the price for his actions.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
First published on: 20-03-2023
Deportation of 700 Indian students from Canada: MEA has taken up issue with High Commission, says MP
Updated At: Mar 20, 2023
MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney (left) with EAM S Jaishankar
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 19
Punjab Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney met Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday and gave him a memorandum, requesting his intervention in the deportation case of 700Indian students from Canada. Sahney claimed that Jaishankar had assured him of full cooperation.
MEA officials informed Sahney that about 100 students had contacted the Indian consulate in Toronto, Canada. Sahney said, “The MEA has taken up the issue with the Canadian High Commission in Delhi and also with its counterparts in Ottawa. The MEA has requested them to investigate the issue, but not to deport the students because they have already spent lakhs of rupees to go to Canada, completed their studies and got work experience.”
Sahney, said the World Punjabi Organisation, in addition to taking up the matter with both governments, would extend free legal help to the students.
Sahney apprised the minister and officers of the North America division in the MEA that the students had gone Canada on the forged admission letters from various colleges. On their arrival, the students found that their admission had been cancelled, consequently they had taken admissions in other colleges and completed their studies.
“It is intriguing how the students reached Canada, given their forged admission letters provided by the notorious agents,” said Sahney
He further explained that most of the students had completed their study and did jobs in Canada for one year under postgraduation work permits. It was when they applied for permanent residency, the Department of Canada Border Security Agency flagged this issue.
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