Panchkula Police arrested a fake immigration agent from Delhi
Panchkula: Haryana government will crack down on illegal travel agents; ‘Travel Agent Regulation Bill’ will be introduced for the third time in the state where ‘donkey’ game will be strictly banned. The Haryana government is going to introduce the ‘Haryana Travel Agents Registration and Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2026’ for the third time to take strict action against illegal travel agents mushrooming in the state including rural areas across the state. The Haryana government will not allow illegal travel agents to establish a foothold even abroad. ChiefMinister said agents sending innocent youths without having registration from the government will have strict action against them and sent to jail. He said the government will introduce a strict bill to stop the ‘donkey route’. The government is going to enact a strict law against travel agents who send people from Haryana abroad through the illegal route. The new law will provide that travel agents will not be able to establish any network not only within the country but also abroad.
To crack down on these activities, the Haryana government had passed the law twice in the Assembly in 2024 and 2025 and sent it to the central government for approval. However, both times the draft law was returned with suggestions for necessary amendments. This time, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has personally introduced this amendment bill in the Assembly stating strict legal action against those sending people abroad through the donkey route by the Haryana Travel Agents without having Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Assembly for the third time. In the Assembly in 2025 the bill provided for mandatory registration of travel agents in Haryana, the Union Ministry of External Affairs, while returning the amended law to the Haryana government, stated that the Haryana Travel Agents Registration and Regulation Act, 2025, contains certain provisions that appear to be inconsistent with the Emigration Act, 1983, which regulates the migration of Indian citizens for employment abroad.
These provisions specifically relate to the jurisdiction of travel agents, which are inconsistent with the provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983 which provides that no Indian citizen may emigrate without obtaining emigration permission from the Protector of Emigrants. Similarly, it was recognized that the current entry and employment laws for foreigners in 17 countries are not stringent and do not provide for grievance redressal. In such a situation, the government’s law should be strengthened from the very beginning so that travel agents do not dare to defraud and mislead people. The Central Government has expressed apprehension that travel agents may misuse certain provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983, to violate its provisions, including mandatory registration with the Protector General of Emigrants (PGE). The Central Government stated that to prevent violations of the provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983, and to curb the increasing cases of illegal recruitment of Indian citizens abroad by unscrupulous agents, it is proposed that the Central and State Governments work in coordination to ensure safe and legal emigration.
Chief Minister Nayab Saini stated that the Haryana Travel Agents Registration and Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, is needed aiming to amend the Haryana Travel Agents Registration and Regulation Act, 2025, and to remove anomalies and harmonize the provisions of the Haryana Travel Agents Registration and Regulation Act, 2025 and the Emigration Act, 1983, to strengthen the regulatory framework governing recruitment agents. The Haryana government also made special provisions in the budget to address issues like the Donkey Route. The Minister said, to connect youth with global employment opportunities, a foreign language training scheme will be implemented in collaboration with the Haryana Skill Employment Corporation, under which children from families with annual incomes up to Rs 3 lakh will receive foreign language training and financial assistance for international certification.
The Chief Minister said in the event of untimely death of a youth who has gone abroad through the legal route, financial assistance will be provided to the family for which a welfare fund will be established for this purpose. He said a pre-departure orientation training center will be established in the state with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs to provide training to youth before they travel abroad. To address the Donkey Route problem, the Haryana government has provided employment to 388 youth in Israel and Dubai in the current financial year. In 2026-27, similar employment opportunities will also be provided in Oman, Kuwait, Germany, and Spain.
Meanwhile, Panchkula Police has arrested a fake immigration agent from Delhi running a fake agency along with his wife. Both were absconding after defrauding lakhs of rupees; police are trying to arrest the wife. Panchkula Police have arrested Pankaj Kumar, a resident of Patiala, a fake immigration agent who was hiding in Delhi. The accused of defrauding a Pinjore family of Rs 6.35 lakh under the pretext of securing a job for their son in the USA. He had promised a monthly salary of Rs 3 lakh. His wife is also accused in the case and the police are still searching for her. Both were involved in frauds in the name of providing jobs in the USA allegedly defrauding people of lakhs of rupees under the guise of providing jobs abroad. The accused’s wife has also been charged in the case, and the search is ongoing.
According to the police, the complainant came in contact with a man named Pankaj Kumar in November 2023. The accused, posing as an immigration agent, claimed to provide elderly care jobs in the USA. Both husband and wife lured them with a salary of Rs. 300,000 per month and demanded a total of Rs. 300,000. Gaining their trust, he took Rs. 635,000 as advance. Neither was the young man sent to the US nor was the money returned. Following the complaint, the Anti-Immigration Fraud Unit investigated and registered a case at Pinjore Police Station on November 3, 2025. Based on technical evidence and information, police conducted raids in Delhi and arrested Pankaj Kumar, originally hailing from Patiala. He was hiding in Delhi. He was produced before the Court and granted three days’ police remand. The investigation also revealed that the accused has another case registered against him in Punjab for fraudulently sending people abroad.
