Face2News/Panchkula
The Anti-Immigration Fraud Unit of Panchkula Police has achieved a major breakthrough in a cheating case involving more than ₹17 lakh on the pretext of sending a woman to Canada. Police have arrested the accused, Gurbinder Singh, a resident of Patiala, in connection with the case registered at Pinjore Police Station.
The accused has been sent to three days of police remand by the court.
According to police officials, the accused allegedly trapped the victim by preparing fake work permit documents and promising to send her to Canada. Meanwhile, the bail petition of the accused was also rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
According to the complaint filed on April 18, 2024, with the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Panchkula, the complainant, a woman from Panchkula, stated that an acquaintance assured her of sending her to Canada through her daughter. She claimed that Gurbinder Singh’s son, Lovepreet Singh, lives in Canada and runs a business there and could arrange a work permit for her.
Trusting this claim, the complainant and her family allegedly transferred over ₹17 lakh in different installments to the accused and his associates.
As per the complaint: On May 8, 2023, ₹7 lakh was transferred to a bank account in Canada on the instructions of Lovepreet Singh.
On May 22, 2023, ₹1.50 lakh was transferred. On June 1, 2023, ₹2.50 lakh was transferred. On July 3, 2023, ₹2 lakh was transferred to the same account. Additionally, ₹20,000 was sent via Google Pay to another person’s account.
On May 26, 2023, the complainant’s family also handed over ₹4 lakh in cash directly to Gurbinder Singh.
During the investigation, police found that the work permit documents sent to the complainant were completely fake. Verification was conducted through the Canadian High Commission via the Ministry of External Affairs, which confirmed that the documents were not issued by the Canadian government.
Following the findings, a case was registered at Pinjore Police Station under sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC and Section 24 of the Immigration Act.
Continuing the investigation, a police team led by Inspector Yogvinder, with Investigating Officer Karnail Singh, conducted a raid in Patiala district on March 12, 2026, and arrested the accused Gurbinder Singh. He was produced in court on March 13, where the court granted three days of police remand.
During interrogation, the accused admitted that he had taken ₹4 lakh in cash from the complainant’s family at the behest of his son Lovepreet Singh. According to his statement, the money was later handed over to his son’s acquaintances. Police will now take the accused along to identify the locations where the money was allegedly delivered, which may help in further recovery and investigation.
DCP Panchkula Srishti Gupta stated that Panchkula Police is taking strict action against those involved in immigration fraud. She urged citizens to verify the credentials and licenses of agents or individuals claiming to send people abroad before making any payments.
She also appealed to the public that if anyone becomes a victim of such fraud, they should immediately contact the police so that timely action can be taken against the accused.