Four accused of using forged documents to get US visa

Ahmedabad: An assistant section officer of the US consulate general in Mumbai, Abraham Ramirez, lodged a complaint against four persons — Yogesh Patel, his wife Ranjan Patel, Parimal Patel and Sanjay Prajapati of Khejpur village of Mehsana district — for submitted a fake birth certificate and salary slip of Pratik Babu Patel to the Gujarat visa facilitation centre at Income Tax as original on March 18, 2018 to obtain a B1/B/2 tourist visa for the US.

The complaint states that the inquiry revealed the criminal involvement of four accused.

It states that Yogesh Patel and his wife Ranjan Patel appeared with their two children at US consulate general in Mumbai for an for interview B1- B2 visitor visas on February 12, 2018.

According to the FIR, Yogesh claimed Pratik Patel was his younger brother and was in the US on an H1-B work visa and their purpose for going to the US was to visit him.

The FIR states that Yogesh had submitted a birth certificate of his purported brother Pratik showing his date of birth as October 3, 1986 which was said to be issued from Gamanpura taluka of Mehsana district.

Crime branch sources said that as the names of Pratik’s father were different on the birth certificate and government records, they wrote to the Mehsana SP for an inquiry. Crime branch sources said the inquiry by the Mehsana SP’s office revealed discrepancies and they informed the US consulate general, which had now lodged a complaint with crime branch against the four persons.

Crime branch officials said they have registered an offence and will soon act against the accused for using forged documents to obtain a US visa.