A 68-year-old visa agent, Naresh Mehta, was held by Amroli Police for allegedly misleading two families to the tune of Rs 30.65 lakhs and luring them with Canada visas.
Mehta allegedly lured the victims with family visas so they could settle in Canada and start their businesses there. He also claimed strong connections with the officials of the Canadian Government.
As per the reports, victim Vipul Tank, aged 42, was a resident of Sweet Home at Amroli and owned a farsan shop there.
Mehta often would visit Tank’s shop to buy snacks.
During one such visit in 2019, Mehta informed Tank that he was involved in immigration and visas for Canada and claimed that he would arrange a work permit, business, or permanent residency visa for anyone because of his good rapport with Canadian Government officials.
The accused also showed his son, Sagar Mehta’s permanent residency (PR) documents.
He told Tank that he was president of the South Gujarat Consumer Forum.
Stunned by the offer, Tank and his neighbouring bakery shop owner, Kamlesh Thumar, expressed their desire to settle in Canada.
Mehta informed him that he was sending a group of 40 people to Canada, including Tank and Thuma’s families.
In December 2019, Tank paid Mehta Rs 1 lakh to initiate the process for four of his family members.
Later, Mehta asked Tank that he needed to sign a MoU and also provide him with a security deposit following which Tank paid him Rs 12.8 lakh, Rs 3.2 lakh per person, in January 2020.
A few days later, Mehta charged them with an additional amount of Rs 4.8 lakh for ‘Business Concept Addition’ in the visa process, which Tank paid.
Mehta continued asking for money, prompting Tank to take a loan of Rs 2.6 lakhs, which he gave to Mehta in February 2020. Following this, Tank made two additional payments of Rs 1.10 lakh and Rs 50,000.
In total, Tank paid Rs 22.8 lakhs to Mehta.
Another victim, Thumar, paid Rs 10.8 lakh to Mehta to start the process of his family.
In March 2020, when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the visa process was halted due to lockdown.
After six months, when things were back to normal, Tank asked Mehta for the visa. However, Mehta made excuses.
Later, Tank denied going to Canada as his father got COVID-19 and asked for his money back in May 2021.
Thumar also changed his mind and asked for a refund.
However, Mehta would only return Rs 2.65 lakh to Tank and Rs 30,000 to Thumar and failed to return the remaining amount.
He continued to promise he would return the money but never did.
Mehta also failed to make any payments to the Canadian government for the process.
As his excuses piled up, Tank submitted a complaint to the Amroli police in November 2024, which led to a cheating case being filed on January 22, 2025.
Also Read: Gujarat: Dalit Man Of Banaskantha District Requests Police Protection For His Wedding