Punjab: Agent who sent a person to Russia on a fake passport arrested after 19 years

Punjab: In a breakthrough after nearly two decades, the Delhi Police have arrested a Punjab-based agent who vanished after orchestrating an illegal journey to Russia on a forged passport — bringing a long-absconding fugitive to justice after 19 years.

Baldev Singh, now 64, hailing from Gandiwind village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in a 2006 immigration fraud case that had all the elements of an international deception.

Acting on a tip-off, a special police team arrested him from a location in Delhi, ending one of the longest manhunts in the airport’s history.

The case goes back to February 2006 when an Indian passenger, deported from Moscow, tried to fly to Europe from the IGI airport using a passport that did not belong to him. On scrutiny, officials noticed the photo didn’t match. The man eventually revealed his true identity: Harjit Singh from Moga, Punjab.

Harjit confessed he had paid Rs 7 lakh to a fixer named Baldev, who promised him illegal passage to Europe via Russia using someone else’s passport. The plan was unravelled quickly. Harjit was caught, deported, and jailed, while Baldev Singh disappeared.

Multiple raids across Punjab yielded no trace of the agent. In 2012, after years of evasion, he was declared a PO and chargesheeted in absentia by a Delhi court.

Nearly two decades later, justice caught up with him. The Delhi cops tracked Baldev Singh and finally apprehended him. During interrogation, the accused admitted to facilitating Harjit Singh’s travel in 2006 on forged documents in exchange for cash.

The police are now probing Baldev’s links to other human trafficking cases and agents involved in similar operations.

Meanwhile, cops reiterated their warning to the public: always use authorised agents and verified documents for travel abroad.