Some 112 unnamed Canadian institutions have made agreements with one entity involved in such activities, while more than 150 have done the same with a similar organisation, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said..
There is no suggestion that the institutions or agents involved were aware of the illegal activities.
The companies sending people to Canadian higher education institutions, which also remain unnamed, have thousands of agents and partners across India – with around 800 believed to be “active”, the ED said in a statement on December 24.
It named “Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel and others” as the masterminds it claimed were behind the scheme.
Searches at eight locations across India on December 10 revealed that one of the entities involved had referred around 25,000 students to overseas institutions, while another referred more than 10,000 every year.
The details were uncovered through the ED’s probe into what is known as the Dingucha case, which the agency referred to as a “well-planned conspiracy” to illegally send people into the US via Canada.
Those accused of human trafficking are alleged to have secured Canadian study visas for individuals they were paid to help enter the US. But once they reached Canada, the individuals illegally crossed over the border into the US instead of joining the institution they were supposed to be attending, the ED said.
Some colleges refunded the tuition fees to the individuals’ accounts, it added.
Meanwhile, two entities in Mumbai and Nagpur linked to the scheme had agreements to enrol students in overseas universities on a commission basis, the investigation found.
In the course of its investigation, the ED seized two vehicles and froze bank accounts containing around 19 Lakh. It also seized “various other incriminating documents and digital devices”, it said.
The operation follows the deaths of a family of four from the Gujarati village of Dingucha on the Canadian-US border in early 2021.
“All the accused, in conspiracy with each other, lured the innocent Indian nationals by charging them the huge amount of Rs. 55 to 60 Lakh per person for causing them to illegally enter the USA through Canada,” the ED said in its statement.
It’s unfortunate that some individuals have resorted to illegal means to reach the US, and it’s even more concerning that some institutions have unknowingly facilitated this
Sumit Rai, EUGateway
Ravi Lochan Singh, managing director, Global Reach, said he was “aghast” at how despite being warned against doing so, “institutions have continued to work with B2B agents dressed as edtech”.
In a LinkedIn post, he added that he doubted B2B operators working for colleges knew about the illegal scheme or made money from it – rather, unknowingly finding themselves caught up in “facilitating this dunki [illegal immigration] route”.
Sumit Rai, founder and first counsellor of the study abroad consultancy company EUGateway, called the reports “truly shocking”, saying they were a “wake up call” for the international education sector.
“It’s unfortunate that some individuals have resorted to illegal means to reach the US, and it’s even more concerning that some institutions have unknowingly facilitated this,” he commented. “It’s important for the education industry to work together to prevent such illegal activities and ensure that students are pursuing their education in a legitimate and safe manner.
