New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) The CBI on Tuesday registered a case against five persons, including two women, on charges of attempting to traffic 11 Punjab-based teenaged boys to the US on non-immigrant visa under the garb of an educational trip, an official said.

The agency on Tuesday also conducted raids at the residences of the accused persons at six locations — one in Punjab and five in Delhi — in their presence. The accused are being questioned.

Those booked in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR were identified as Rachna David, a resident of Punjab’s Jalandhar city, and her Delhi-based associates Sandeep Singh Luthra, Amit Jyot Singh, Rohit Gauba and Anshika Matharu.

CBI Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said the agency got a tip-off about the gang when one of their members submitted false and fabricated documents to the US Embassy to obtain non-immigrant visa for these 11 teenaged boys and one of his associate.

All the boys, who have been handed over to their parents, were allegedly shown as students of a school based in Punjab’s Pathankot, the official said. The official did not disclose the name of the school.

One of the accused persons, who was to escort the group of boys to the US, was shown as the principal of the school whereas none of them belonged to that school.

The accused are alleged of receiving lakhs of rupees from the families of each of teenage boys for sending them to the US, said the official.

According to the official, all the boys were brought from Punjab to New Delhi by the accused and were tutored to present themselves as school students at the time of their interview at the US embassy.

“As the accused failed to get the visa, their attempt was foiled,” the official added.

–IANS
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