Trapped in visa fraud, Sitapur youth lands in Oman jail

A 22-year-old man from Sitapur who left home hoping to secure a better livelihood for his family is now lodged in a jail in Oman, allegedly after an agent sent him abroad on invalid visa documents while promising a legitimate job, his family members said. The Sitapur police are looking into the matter, according to an official.

Hasim, a resident of Khanpur village under Reusa police station limits, assisted his family’s modest chokha-bati business. With limited income and growing financial pressures, he was determined to find better-paying work overseas.

“He would say he wanted to go abroad, work hard and change our situation,” recalled his mother, Noorjahan.

According to the family, that ambition led him into the hands of an alleged fraudster. They claimed a Sitapur-based agent, Mohammad Zuber Ahmad Ansari, assured Hasim of employment in Oman and collected ₹1.15 lakh to arrange travel and documents. The family alleged they were told a valid work visa would be provided after his arrival.

Around nine months ago, Hasim travelled to Oman. For a brief period, he managed to find work at a small hotel and informed his family that things were improving. But the situation took a turn during a routine inspection by local authorities, who found that he did not possess a valid employment visa. He was detained and later jailed, the family said.

“We had no idea the visa was not meant for work. Now, our son is in jail in a foreign country, and we are helpless,” Noorjahan told the police.

For her, the priority is clear: to bring her son back. “He only wanted to earn honestly,” she said. “We trusted the wrong person—and now he is paying the price.”

An FIR was registered under Sections 318(4) and 319 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, for cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property and cheating by personation respectively, at Kotwali City police station in Sitapur on Tuesday. It names the alleged agent and a few unidentified associates.

Sitapur Kotwali inspector in-charge Anoop Kumar Shukla said they are examining visa documents, financial transactions and the possible involvement of a wider network facilitating illegal overseas placements. “Preliminary inquiry suggests the youth may have been sent on a visa category not meant for employment,” he said, adding that teams are verifying leads, including premises in Sitapur’s Greek Ganj area that may have been used as a front.

Officials said such cases are part of a recurring pattern, where unregulated agents exploit job seekers’ desperation and lack of awareness about visa rules. Workers are often sent on tourist or short-term visas with assurances of jobs, exposing them to detention, fines or deportation abroad.

Back in Khanpur, the family, which had pinned its hopes on Hasim’s earnings, is now struggling with uncertainty and debt.