IGIA Police arrest former Kabaddi player over visa forgery for more than 50 people
NEW DELHI: The IGI Airport Police team has arrested a Canada-based former Kabaddi player for arranging forged Visa’s for more than 50 passengers.
The police were informed about the incident after nine Indian passenger deported from Ethiopia.
The accused has been identified as Guramritpal Singh Multani alias Pali (54) son of Gajjan Singh, resident of Norbrook Drive, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
According to the police, the accused was apprehended at Ahmedabad Airport upon his return to India. He had been on the run since 2019 and is reportedly a Permanent Resident (PR) of Canada.
The accused Multani was involved in arranging fake Continuous Discharge Certificates (CDCs), documents required for seafaring jobs, for at least two passengers in 2019 in exchange for Rs 20 lakh each.
The racket surfaced on September 27, 2019, when nine Indian passengers were deported from Ethiopia after authorities discovered their CDCs were falsely issued in the name of the Government of Samoa.
A complaint from immigration officials led to the registration of an FIR under sections of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
During investigation, two deported passengers named Multani as the agent who procured their forged papers. However, police efforts to nab him were hampered as he had settled in Canada.
Multani returned to India recently, whereupon a team led by Inspector Satish Yadav and Constable Hemant, under the supervision of SHO Inspector Virender Tyagi and ACP Pradeep Meena, arrested him on September 29.
Interrogation revealed that Multani, originally from Punjab, moved to Canada with his family in 1995 and secured permanent residency in 1999.
He claimed to have been a national-level Kabaddi player, representing Guru Nanak Dev University in India and Hamilton Punjab Sports Club in Canada.
Multani later turned to human smuggling, partnering with agents like Manjeet from Jalandhar. He faces seven previous cases; police continue tracing his network amid a crackdown on fake travel documents.
