New Delhi: Around 55 migrant workers from all over the country are trying to recover their passports after returning from Russia, and the situation has put them in great trouble.
Dream of a new life
The workers dreamt of starting a new life in Europe, and they went to Russia. They went there in November 2023, as they were promised of a better future. They started to work at a tailoring company that manufactured uniforms for the military. Many young men from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Maharashtra went there in search of work.
However, the conditions at the company began to degrade as uncertain wages and work arrangements and not seeing their families for over a year forced them to return to India. In December, a person named Surendra rekindled their dream once again.
The revelation of scam
Surendra claimed to have an office in Greater Noida and links to European employers. He promised them work visas in exchange of Rs 1.5 lakh for Russia, and Rs 3.5 lakh for Poland and Finland. Most of them paid, and the process seemed legitimate. However, they soon began to doubt as Surendra continued to demand for pending payments. When the suspicious workers visited an embassy official, they found that the visa given to them was fake and Surendra’s company was fake.
Fake racket busted
The accused lured young people with offers to work abroad in countries like Finland, Poland and Russia. The scammers also collected their passports, and the workers are now more concerned about recovering them. On March 8, Gautam Buddha Nagar Police busted a fake visa racket operating out of a mall in Greater Noida. The accused, Saksham Sharma, ran a fraudulent visa consultancy, “SKY VISA VENTURE,” from an office inside Gaur City Mall and it was his alleged Rajeev Sharma who used the name Surendra. The police are now probing further into the case.