Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Thursday said that the Government will bring a Haryana Registration and Regulation of the Travel Agencies Act, 2023  with provision of punishment and hefty fines to check unscrupulous travel agents, who “cheat innocent people” wanting to move abroad. A draft of the Act has been prepared, incorporating provisions for penalties, fines, and security measures to deter and address any violations of the Act. The proposed legislation is scheduled for presentation in the upcoming Winter Session of the Assembly beginning from Friday, he added.

Addressing a press conference,  Vij said that the Government will implement the Haryana Registration and Regulation of the Travel Agencies Act, 2023 in the State, modeled after similar legislation in Punjab and Chandigarh. “The Home Minister emphasized the commitment to safeguarding people's hard-earned money from falling into the hands of fraudulent agents.

He highlighted instances where fraud, under the guise of sending people abroad, has ranged from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 60 lakh, averaging around Rs 25 lakh. Additionally, he disclosed that the present Special Investigation Team has uncovered history sheets of more than 80 people. Regarding the fraud committed by the people of Punjab, he said that action has also been taken and cases have been registered against the people of Haryana and Punjab.

Vij said that in the course of investigation, it has been revealed that a significant number of individuals are deceived into traveling to countries in Latin America, as well as the UK and USA. Among the 509 individuals apprehended, approximately 65 agencies are implicated in these fraudulent activities. The Home Minister informed that to quickly resolve the pending cases of kaboortarbazi and to prevent fraud from the general public, a SIT Sibash Kabiraj, Inspector General of Police, Ambala Range was constituted on April 17, 2023. Jashandeep Singh Randhawa, Superintendent of Police Ambala and Abhishek Jorwal, Superintendent of Police Kaithal (presently Deputy Commissioner of Police Headquarters Faridabad) were included in this SIT.

“The new Special Investigation Team (SIT) has registered a total of 1008 cases in the state against those who have been sending people aboard by fraudulent means (kabootarbazi). Among these cases, 662 accused individuals have been apprehended. He further revealed that a cumulative sum of Rs 4,75,96,100 has been successfully recovered by both the new and existing SIT,” he added.

He said that the new SIT registered 383 cases of previous frauds until April 17, 2023, leading to the arrest of 153 individuals. Subsequently, from April 17, 2023 to December 12, 2023, the SIT recorded an additional 625 cases, resulting in the apprehension of 509 accused. Notably, during this period, a recovery of Rs 2,94,38,300 was accomplished. Vij mentioned that a helpline number 80530-03400 has been released to assist victims of kabootarbazi cases. This helpline allows complainants to register their grievances and obtain information related to their complaints. Additionally, a monitoring cell has been established in the Ambala Range Office to oversee complaints and allegations concerning kabootarbazi and fraudulent activities in the guise of sending abroad, he added.