VASCO: Goa police helped bust a multi-state job racket, wherein youth looking to migrate abroad for jobs were being lured to Goa and then kidnapped for ransom. The accused were caught based on a complaint filed in the case of a 28-year-old Afghan, who was lured to Goa and held captive in Porvorim.
Haryana resident Sushil Singh alias Rishab was the mastermind behind the crimes. His gang included 13 persons in all, including two Goa residents and one minor.
Police said once the victims were kidnapped, they were used to extort up to Rs 35 lakh each from the youths’ family and friends.
Afghan national Shapoor Zarifi, who resides in India as a refugee, came down to Goa from Delhi on February 7, after he was promised employment in Toronto, Canada, by the accused. Once he landed at a hotel in Vasco, he was taken to a bungalow in Porvorim and held captive there.
South Goa superintendent of police Pankaj Kumar Singh said that a team comprising personnel from Vasco, crime branch, ATS and Pernem police station, in a joint operation, rescued Zarifi from Porvorim. During the operation, one more captive from Punjab was found. Sushil Singh, through his agents, lured job-seekers with an offer of employment and visa for Canada, said the SP.
Zarifi had come down to India seven years ago and was dealing in real estate in Delhi. The victim was kept under strict supervision of the goons, who would beat him up and force him to send audio messages through WhatsApp to his fiancee in Delhi, who is also an Afghan national.
He was asked to speak in English and inform his family that he has reached Canada. A fake boarding pass, tickets and IP location of Canada were created by the gang to be sent to his youth’s family and fiancee, as a confirmation that Zarifi had indeed reached his destination.
After getting an initial payment of Rs two lakh from Zarifi, his fiancee was asked for a payment of $20,000 or Rs 14.5 lakh. She was told it was for the agent. She suspected something was amiss when his messages came in English, as they always conversed in their native Farsi. Zarifi too managed to tell her in Farsi that he was kidnapped. His fiancee along with few other Afghan refugees came down to Goa and lodged a complaint with Vasco police on Thursday.
Accordingly, the team, headed by Singh, traced the location. Police arrested 12 persons and one minor and rescued the two captives. The second captive from Punjab came down to Goa on February 6 and had promised to pay Rs 35 lakh.
The accused include Pernem residents Alex D’Souza, 29, and Robinson D’Souza, 23. Ashish Tripathi from UP and Rajat Kalyan, Saahil Kalyan, Pradeep Kumar, Sanju Singh, Vijay, Anil Kumar, Anurag Kumar, Vishal Goswami from Haryana are the other accused, including a 16-year-old minor. The minor accused was lodged at a protective home due to his age. Police recovered fake boarding passes and passport, laptop and printer used to create the fake passport and boarding passes and mobile phones. Two cars which were used during the kidnapping and second one used by the main accused were also seized.