Representative image of human trafficking written on paper.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mumbai: The Lieutenant Commander rank officer of the Indian Navy arrested for alleged involvement in trafficking people to South Korea on forged documents was taking instructions from the mastermind, also from the Navy, officials said on Sunday.
So far, the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested five persons, including Lieutenant Commander Vipin Kumar Dagar (28) who was taken into custody from Colaba on Thursday, they said.
The others have been identified as Sub-Lieutenant Braham Jyoti Sharma, Simran Teji, Ravi Kumar and Deepak Dogra.
Police had said earlier that the gang had sent 8-10 people to the East Asian country using bogus papers and had charged Rs 10 lakh per case.
Dagar prepared forged documents and forwarded them to the Korean Consulate. He was taking instructions from the mastermind and Navy officer Sharma, who was arrested from Lonavala, the Crime Branch said.
The Indian Navy said on Saturday it would fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies in the case.
Simran Teji, arrested from Pune, is a close aide of Sharma and she channelled the proceeds of the crime through her various bank accounts, said officials.
Ravi Kumar and Deepak Dogra were arrested from Jammu and Kashmir. Their transit remand was acquired and they would be produced in court as soon as they are brought to Mumbai, an official said.
Kumar wanted to leave for South Korea on a visa acquired through forged documents. Dogra appears to have been monitoring the overall operation and identifying potential targets who wanted to go abroad on work visas, the official said.
The MRA police station has registered a case against the five for cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code, and the Passport Act. Further investigation is underway, the official added.
Dagar, a resident of Haryana and the son of an air force personnel, has been remanded in police custody till July 5