Travel agent dupes couple of Rs 10 lakh, booked

CHANDIGARH: A travel agent was booked on Tuesday for duping a couple of Rs 10 lakh on the promise of sending it to Australia. Ashit Kumar had collected the cash from Swati and Manik Gupta after assuring them of Permanent Residence (PR) and work permit in Perth, Australia. Kumar had introduced himself as Abhishek Sinha to the couple.
Kumar had also promised to arrange the best education for their minor daughter Down Under.The Guptas approached the police when the travel agent did not return their money after failing to keep his promises.
The complainant, Swati, had met the accused through her brother-in-law, Manish Gupta. "Manish too had paid the accused Rs 3 lakh for getting work permit visa of Australia," sources in police said.
"The accused had advised Swati to start an NGO here to get the visa quickly. Earlier, the couple was not willing to approach the travel agent as they thought his fees of Rs 10 lakh was too high. Later, they agreed and paid the amount in installments," they added.
Cops said apart from the couple, Kumar had cheated seven more people.
Swati found out the truth when she went to Kumar's daughter's school after finding his house locked. There, she was told that the girl had left the school and that her father's name was Ashit Kumar not Abhishek Sinha.
A case has been registered at Sector 39 police station.