Punjab Police books 18 more travel agents

Chandigarh: Continuing its crackdown against illegal travel agents to protect the youth aspiring to settle abroad, Punjab Police’s NRI Affairs Wing and Cyber Crime Wing in coordination with the Protectorate of Emigrants, Chandigarh, have booked 18 more travel agencies in the State for illegally advertising employment opportunities on social media

The development came close on the heels of registration of at least 20 first information reports (FIRs) against 25 such illegal travel agencies in the month of August 2024.

Now, the tally of booked illegal travel agencies has reached to 43.

Pertinently, Protectorate of Emigrants had red-flagged the advertising on

Instagram and Facebook for jobs in foreign countries by such unscrupulous travel agencies.

ADGP NRI Affairs Praveen K Sinha on Sunday informed that these unscrupulous travel agencies were advertising jobs abroad on Instagram and Facebook without possessing the requisite license and permissions.

“We checked the online platforms, verified their credentials covertly and registered FIRs against them,” he said, while adding that a total of 18 new FIRs

have been registered under sections 24/25

of the Emigration Acts in various NRI Police Stations in the state, including at Amritsar, SAS Nagar, Ludhiana and Patiala. Notably, of 18 new FIRs registered, six were registered in September and 12 were registered in the month of October,” he said.