The Punjab Police’s NRI Wing has registered a cheating case against a Jalandhar-based couple for allegedly duping a Mohali resident of ₹12 lakh on the pretext of sending him abroad. The case was registered after approval from the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), NRI Wing, Punjab.
The accused have been identified as Karanjit Singh and his wife Saranjit Kaur. The complaint was filed by Shakeel Mohammad, a resident of village Jhanjhodi in Kharar tehsil of Mohali district, who works as a hairdresser.
According to the complaint, Shakeel came into contact with Saranjit Kaur alias Laddi, who worked with him. She later introduced him to her husband, Karanjit Singh, who allegedly assured him of arranging his migration to Portugal. The accused reportedly promised a work permit, European permanent residency and a “red passport,” and took his passport in January 2022.
Shakeel alleged that he first paid ₹4 lakh in India. In August 2022, the accused sent him to Dubai, where the remaining ₹8 lakh was collected from him. However, no job was arranged and no further immigration process was initiated. After his three-month visa expired, he was forced to return to India.
The complainant further stated that the couple continued to delay the matter for over a year on one pretext or another. He later discovered that Karanjit Singh had allegedly been involved in a similar fraud case earlier, in which a young man had died by suicide. That complaint had reportedly been closed earlier due to lack of evidence.
Following the emergence of fresh documents and evidence, the ADGP, NRI Wing, granted permission to reopen the case. Subsequently, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the NRI Police Station in Mohali under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
The investigation has been entrusted to ASI Sohan Singh. Police officials said further probe is underway to verify the financial transactions and to ascertain whether the accused were involved in other similar cases
