The Indian police have booked a couple, Rina Shah and Gaurav Shah, for allegedly defrauding over 40 individuals of Rs 1.63 crore under the pretext of providing work visas for Canada.
According to the complaint filed by a 46-year-old resident of Malad, the fraud occurred between May 2023 and June 2024. The complainant paid Rs 7.16 lakh as a processing fee to the Shahs to obtain a work visa for Canada, but the visa did not materialize, and the couple provided vague responses.
The complainant further revealed that the Shahs had created online media centers on social media platforms, showcasing reviews and statuses of visa applications, but these were taken down once victims began to uncover the fraud.
So far, 40 victims have come forward, and the police suspect that the couple may have defrauded many other victims as well. The police have charged Rina and Gaurav Shah under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The police are currently in the process of obtaining details of the bank accounts used by the accused, identifying who handled these accounts, and determining the end beneficiaries of the money. If it is established that the documents provided by the accused couple are bogus, additional charges related to forgery will be added to the case.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities seek to locate and apprehend the accused couple.
