178 youths of Gurdaspur village lose Rs 2.3 crore (Pic Credit: Pixabay)

Ghaziabad: Amidst diplomatic tensions, the allure of Canada has maintained its grip on Punjab’s rural communities for generations. Two individuals, Palwinder Singh – the victim, and Popinder Singh – the accused, found themselves entangled in a web of deceit after an encounter at an event in January this year.

Fast forward seven months, and Popinder, along with his accomplice and manager, Preeti, left an entire village in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district reeling from financial losses amounting to Rs 2.3 crore. They deceived 178 young hopefuls with false promises of lucrative jobs in Canada.

Elaborate scam operation

Originally hailing from Pathankot, Popinder crossed paths with Palwinder in January, posing as a senior HR executive representing a company based in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. The Non-Resident Indian (NRI) dangled the prospect of employment in Canada before Palwinder, a businessman from Ghaziabad.

However, Popinder’s proposition was not limited to just one person. He urged Palwinder to source approximately 500 young individuals for various job positions in Canada, all in exchange for a commission. Palwinder embarked on a hunt for candidates in his own village of Chawa in Gurdaspur.

In Chawa, Palwinder found no shortage of aspiring youths eager to forge a career in a foreign land, given that the minimum monthly salary on offer exceeded what many of them earned in a year – 3,380 Canadian dollars, equivalent to around Rs 2 lakh.

Also Read: MPPEB Patwari exam toppers from one centre, hints at job scam 

Popinder claimed to be responsible for recruitment at a company called Zenith Manpower Services, Canada. His goal of hiring 500 youths in the coming months piqued Palwinder’s interest. He returned to his village and began canvassing for potential candidates. The offer quickly garnered the attention of 178 youths who were willing to pay for visas and other necessary documents.

These 178 youths were asked to pay varying amounts ranging from Rs 80,000 to 1.5 lakh each for the processing of their applications. Subsequently, 61 villagers received air tickets and offer letters delivered to their doorsteps. However, their hopes were soon shattered when they discovered that their online ticket bookings had been cancelled just three days later.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, they visited the Delhi office, where they were reassured that their tickets would be rebooked. The same pattern repeated twice more, leaving the youths suspicious.

“We decided to visit the Canadian embassy in Delhi, where we learned that all the documents provided to us were fraud,” Palwinder revealed. By this point, both Palwinder and Preeti, along with their associates at the Delhi office who had shared contact information with the job aspirants, had switched off their phones. Furthermore, their office in Connaught Place (CP) was locked and vacant.

Legal action taken

Vivek Yadav, DCP (Rural), stated that an FIR had been filed against Popinder and Preeti under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forgery) and 471 (using a forged document as genuine).