About a dozen students from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been taken into custody by the Chanakyapuri police of New Delhi based on complaints from the US Embassy that they had produced fake work experience and bank documents to obtain US visas.
Agents and educational consultants who helped them obtain fake certificates and fudged documents were also picked up by the police. They are said to be put up in a city hotel as the police were trying to gather more information from the accused students, parents and the agents, most of whom run consulting business in Hyderabad.
Most of the accused hailed from Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Guntur and Warangal. A police officer of Chanakyapuri police station confirmed to The Hindu that several complaints have been lodged and they were here to investigate. However, he did not confirm the arrests but said some police officers have already left along with the students picked up for questioning. They are likely to be produced in a Delhi court.
The students chose the US Embassy in New Delhi for their visa interviews rather than the consulates in Hyderabad or Chennai that are nearer to them. In the complaints lodged with the police by the US Embassy, officials said that students when confronted revealed that they had never worked in the companies which they have claimed while submitting the documents. The bank balance figures were also fudged to claim huge deposits to impress the visa officers that they had enough funds to back the educational costs in the US.
The arrested students revealed to the police that the agents collected anywhere between ₹1 to ₹2 lakh for arranging the fake work experience documents and also deposit funds in their banks till the visa was obtained. Some IT companies collected as less as ₹ 5,000 to provide fake work experience.
Nishidhar Borra, a consultant with over 25 years of experience, warned the aspirants against submitting fake documents as they would be easily caught. He blamed the agents who convince students and their parents to opt for this route rather than honestly attending the interview. “Honesty pays at the embassies and not cheating,” he said.
Such attempts to cheat the US embassy also reflect on the cities they hail from.
