Two of those arrested are Joginder Singh (53) and Surjeet Singh (53). They used to work as agents in rural areas of Kaithal and Kurukshetra in Haryana and arranged visas and passports by unfair means for people intending to travel abroad, the police said.

The third arrested accused is Kuldeep Singh (33), a passenger who intended to travel on a fake visa, police said. According to the police, a complaint was received from immigration officials at IGI Airport police station alleging that on the intervening night of January 8 and 9, a passenger named Kuldeep Singh approached for immigration clearance at the airport to depart to Dubai.

"During clearance and scrutiny of travel documents, a fake Canadian visa was found affixed on a page of his passport as it did not have any security features as that of the original Canadian visa. A case was registered and investigation taken up," Sanjay Tyagi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport), said.

When the passenger was interrogated, he revealed that he procured the fake Canadian visa and other documents from an agent named Joginder Singh for a payment of Rs 16 lakh, Tyagi said. The passenger also disclosed that agent Joginder Singh accompanied him to the airport on January 8, he said.

Kuldeep Singh, who is a farmer, was arrested on the spot, the DCP added. "Through sources and electronic surveillance, our team obtained information that alleged agent Joginder Singh was using a WhatsApp number to be in touch with passenger’s family. In prompt response, our team was able to arrest the accused agent within four hours of the registration of the case from IGI Airport," he said.

When Joginder Singh was questioned, he told police that he, along with his associate Surjeet Singh and another agent, arranged the fake Canadian visa for the passenger, the DCP said. "After obtaining seven days police remand of agent Joginder Singh from a court here, a raid was conducted in Kaithal and Kurukshetra in Haryana. With the help of local intelligence and electronic surveillance, Surjeet Singh was arrested within two days of the registration of the case," the officer said.

With inputs from PTI.