A visa fraud targeting Nepali nationals was busted by the Delhi Police Crime Branch, which arrested two key members for allegedly duping 19 victims of nearly `70 lakh. The gang promised work visas to Serbia and in exchange for money from the victims, eventually stranding them in Delhi.
The two arrested accused were identified as Jayakab, 41, and Rupesh, 42. Police also recovered 13 original Nepali passports and incriminating digital evidence. Two other associates, Sachin and George alias Bijoj, are absconding.
According to a police press release, a complaint was lodged on August 22 by Sujan Khadka, a 22-year-old Nepali national, who said he and 18 other Nepali citizens had been cheated by a man named Jayakab. Khadka said he met Jayakab in April 2024.
The accused promised them overseas jobs in Serbia and showed them forged visas and job offer letters.
The victims were then asked to hand over their passports for processing. In May 2024, the accused demanded 3,500 euros from each person, collecting a total of about `70 lakh. The money was transferred through QR codes linked to the accounts of the accused’s associates.
In July 2025, the 19 victims travelled from Nepal to Delhi expecting to collect their visas and passports. However, the accused started to evade them, giving false assurances. Despite spending weeks in Delhi and incurring high expenses, the promised documents never came. When the victims tracked down Jayakab at his residence in Seelampur and demanded their money and passports back, he allegedly refused and threatened them. The victims later found that the visas were fake.
Police said the victims were left stranded in India without their passports and with no way to return home. The case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Jayakab, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, reportedly exploited his proficiency in the Nepali language to gain the trust of the victims. He confessed to operating a fraud racket that cheated both Indian and Nepali youths on the pretext of arranging foreign work visas. He told police that he and his associates would take between `5 lakh and `10 lakh from each victim. The money was then split equally among the four associates. The accused used WhatsApp to communicate and deliberately used SIM cards that were not registered in their names.
Rupesh, a BCom graduate and a travel agent for 15 years, had been working with Jayakab for four years. A significant portion of the money, `60 lakh, was transferred from Nepal through a hawala network. Funds originated from Rajaram in Nepal,routed via Nepali bank accounts arranged by Ashish Pandey (Nepali Citizen). Thereafter, receipts were shared with Rupesh, who collected cash in Delhi through hawala couriers and handed it to Jayakab. He also deposited about ?20 lakh into the bank accounts of Jayakab’s wife and two friends.
The police said that further investigation is in progress and more arrests and recoveries are likely.