Two accused were arrested by Chennai Police after a complaint by US consulate. (Photo: Special Arrangement)

2 arrested in Chennai for issuing fake certificates to US visa aspirants

The Chenna Police busted a forgery racket involving a Hyderabad-based company that allegedly issued fake education certificates and job experience documents to people to help them get visas.

by · India Today

In Short

  • US consulate complaint led to the arrest of two people
  • The accused were issuing fake documents and job experience certificates to visa aspirants
  • They charged Rs 5 lakh for fake documents and job experience certificates, police say

The Chennai Police arrested two people for allegedly creating fake educational documents while applying for a US Visa.

The police action came after a complaint by an Overseas Criminal Investigator on behalf of the US consulate on October 22.

According to the complaint, the accused, identified as Ajay Bhandaria, applied for a work visa, showing a diploma certificate in hotel management issued by the Gandhi Institute of Technical and Management and a job experience certificate from the Mariott Hotel and Convention Centre which were found fake.

During the interview with US consulate officials, Bhandaria also confessed to having obtained fake documents and job experience. He further informed the officials that an amount of Rs five lakh was paid to purchase the documents from a company named Dream for Overseas Private Limited, located in Hyderabad.

Upon receiving a complaint from the US consulate in connection with the matter, a team of Chennai Police filed a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the head of Dream for Overseas Consultancy, Balanandeswara Rao, and another person, identified as Kopse Mahesh, were arrested from Hyderabad.

The investigation team found that Rs five lakh was charged for providing fake experience and educational certificates. Mahesh had also reportedly issued fake course completion certificates from Sybil Technologies, a Skill Development Institution run by him, police said.

The police also seized 90 fake certificates and fake seals from the custody of Mahesh.