Major student visa racket busted

Arjun RaghunathFirst Published : 30 Jan 2010 01:34:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 30 Jan 2010 11:18:04 AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central Bureau of Investigation has busted a racket, comprising senior bank officials, which was involved in trafficking of youths to foreign countries on student visas using fake documents.


The racket, which has been thriving in the state over the past couple of years, is suspected to have arranged student visas to nearly 100 youths, both males and females, to Australia, New Zealand and Ireland using fake documents, CBI sources said.

CBI Thiruvananthapuram unit had registered a case against nine persons, including two senior officials of the Indian Overseas Bank and officials of Alpha Overseas Consultancy which has branches across the state.

The CBI also conducted raids on the residences of the two bank officers in Ernakulam and Bangalore and the office of the recruiting agency in Kottayam on Thursday and recovered several documents pertaining to the case.

The CBI also suspects the involvement of certain private institutions based in foreign countries in the racket.

Simon Bhaskaran, former manager of IOB Kottayam branch, who is now working in Ernakulam, Jayan, a former assistant manager of the bank who is now working in Pandalam, and partners of Alpha Overseas Consultancy Johnson and Renjit are among those who have been arraigned as accused in the FIR that was filed at the CBI court in Ernakulam the other day. The involvement of more persons in the racket may surface in further investigation, said sources.

A CBI team led by Inspector Salim Sahib of the Thiruvananthapuram unit is probing the case.

The modus operandi of the racket was to arrange student visas using fake bank documents.

After reaching the foreign country, the youths would take up some part-time jobs for a couple of years and later avail of permanent residentship.

The bank officials arranged fake loan certificates to the racket which was essential to get student visa.

The candidate would be asked to open a savings bank account in the bank and deposit a few lakhs of rupees in the account. A demand draft would be issued using the fund available in the savings bank account and a fake loan certificate would also be issued in favour of the candidate so as to make the foreign institution believe that the candidate has been sanctioned education loan up to Rs 20 lakh.

The recruiting agency would subsequently get the student visa with the support of these fake documents. The bank officials were suspected to have received huge amounts as bribe from the recruiting agency as well as the candidates on this account.

While several students had knowingly used the illegal route, many were trapped by the racket by offering student visa at cheap rates, CBI sources said.