While rescuing a city-based businessman from kidnappers earlier this week, the city police stumbled upon a visa-funding racket that is rampant in metro cities across the country. Further, the kidnap victim has now turned out to be a suspect in the racket.
According to a senior police officer, the accused and the victim in the kidnap case — Suresh and Srihari — were business partners for the last decade. Allegedly, the duo would approach people wanting to apply for visas but did not have the required funds. Visa rules mandate that the applicant must have adequate balance in the bank account. They would ‘help’ them by transferring money for a commission. Once the applicant received the visa approval, the accused would transfer the money to another applicant, the investigating officer said.
Using this modus operandi , both of them earned commission worth lakhs. However, the duo’s business relationship turned sour after Srihari allegedly duped Suresh of ₹2.9 crore. Enraged, Mr. Suresh allegedly engaged a gang from Hyderabad to kidnap Mr. Srihari to recover his dues.
The Bagaluru police, who cracked the case, are verifying their bank statements to ascertain their financial dealings. “It’s a herculean task to track down the transactions as majority of the beneficiaries are abroad. We have sought the help of bank officials,” said the officer.
Reporting by Imran Gowhar
