Senior Citizen Accused of US Visa Fraud, Human Trafficking Gets Bail

A Delhi Court recently granted bail to a senior citizen accused of US Visa Fraud. He was arrested after a complaint that he was impersonating the father of a boy to get a US tourist visa for him. He has been charge sheeted for human trafficking and other offences.An FIR was lodged on the Complaint filed by the Security Officer of the US Embassy in New Delhi. The investigation revealed that he had earlier impersonated the father of 11 children to get a visa for them.Bail Granted by Patiala House CourtAdditional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Prashant Sharma of Patiala House Court granted bail to Attarpal Singh, noting that he has been in custody since March 7, 2026, and a charge sheet has not been filed.ASJ Sharma said, "Without commenting further on the merits of the case, keeping the facts and circumstances in mind and the fact that trial is likely to take some time, I am satisfied that no purpose would be served by keeping the applicant in further incarceration and the applicant has made out a case for grant of regular bail.""In these circumstances, applicant/accused Attarpal Singh is granted bail on his furnishing Personal Bond or Surety Bond in the sum of Rs. 50,000 and one Local Surety," ASJ Prashant Sharma ordered on May 15. The bail has been granted to subject to the terms and conditions, including applicant shall not leave India without informing the IO/ SHO concerned, in writing.Details of the AllegationsAs per reply of Investigation officer on March 6 an information was received from USA Embassy, Chanakya Puri Delhi in which the complainant Jeffery B Gieser, Overseas Criminal Investigator, Regional Security Office, US Embassy New Delhi alleged that Attarpal Singh Resident of Dehradun Uttarakhand Age 63 Years came at embassy along with a child Aged 13 Year claimed that said child is his son and he applied tourist visa for him.During the visa interview, the child revealed that Attarpal Singh is not his father and that he is a visa agent. His original name is different; he is from District Hossiyarpur, Tech Dasuya, Punjab.During checking previous records, the embassy found that Attarpal Singh had previously applied for visas as the father of 11 children. Each child's visa application identified Attarpal Singh as the father and Amarjeet Kaur as the mother.During the investigation, the accused Attarpal Singh was interrogated and thereafter arrested. Based on said allegations, the FIR in question was registered, and an investigation ensued.Court Proceedings and RulingAdvocate Sanjiv Malik appeared for the accused and submitted that the accused was arrested by the police on March 7, and he has undergone the full period of custodial interrogation, and there remains no justified ground for his continued detention.It was argued that the investigation of the case has been completed and the applicant/accused is no longer required for further investigation. The Applicant has been made a scapegoat in a case built upon circumstantial and documentary evidence.The accused is 63 years of age, suffers from age-related ailments, i.e., high blood pressure, sugar, and also has paralytic and has deep roots in the community, the counsel said.Public prosecutor opposed the application by submitting that allegations against the accused are serious, that the accused can flee from justice and can tamper with the evidence. Therefore, the application must be dismissed.After hearing the submissions, ASJ Sharma said, "I find that the applicant has been in custody since March 7. No further recovery is allegedly left to be made at the instance of the applicant or from his possession. As per the reply of the IO, the investigation regarding the accused is complete, and the charge sheet in this case is under scrutiny with the prosecution and shall be filed soon. The trial is yet to commence. It is not alleged that the accused can fail the tripod test laid down by the Apex Court." (ANI)(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Senior Citizen Accused of US Visa Fraud, Human Trafficking Gets Bail

Synopsis

A Delhi court granted bail to a senior citizen accused of US visa fraud. He was arrested after the US Embassy reported he impersonated a boy's father to get a visa and had previously done so for 11 other children.

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