Thaindian News

Chandigarh, April 22 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has raided the offices and houses of recruiting agents following complaints of illegal human trafficking, officials said Friday.

The agents work with the Protector of Emigrants (POE) here.

The officials said the CBI raided around six places here Thursday and seized documents. The CBI will continue its raids in Mohali and in other towns of Punjab Friday.

“The CBI is conducting simultaneous raids in Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai and in Hyderabad,” Vinod Kumar, POE, Chandigarh, told IANS.

“There are around 175 recruiting agents working with us and they are under the CBI scanner.

“Though the exact reason behind this raid is still not known to us, I think it is related to sending people abroad on forged documents related to education and work experience,” Kumar said.

Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh come under the jurisdiction of POE, Chandigarh.

Kumar said that in most cases the POE relies upon documents sent by recruiting agents and does not go for any more scrutiny.

“They are authorised recruiting agents and we normally rely on the documents sent by them. The documents are also attested by the competent departments,” he pointed out.

CBI sources said they had registered cases against a couple of New Delhi-based travel agents who were working in connivance with recruiting agents of various states to unscrupulously send people abroad.