📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Crime
Jalandhar Resident Returns After 15 Months in Cambodia Post ₹7.5 Lakh Travel Scam
✍️ Amar Ujala · Jalandhar
🗓 23 Sep 2026, 03:46 PM
👁 9
Hardeep Kumar, a Jalandhar resident, came back to India after three years, having spent 15 months in Cambodia following a travel‑agent fraud that cost him ₹7.5 lakh.
Hardeep Kumar, a resident of Jalandhar in Punjab, arrived back in India after a prolonged stay in Cambodia that began in early 2022. The 15‑month overseas period was the result of a fraudulent scheme in which a travel agent promised to arrange a trip to Portugal but instead kept the advance payment.
According to reports, the agent collected a sum of ₹7.5 lakh from Hardeep under the pretext of visa processing, flight bookings and accommodation for the Portugal journey. When the promised arrangements failed to materialise, Hardeep was left stranded in Cambodia, unable to return home for nearly a year and a half.
After persistent efforts by his family and local contacts, Hardeep secured a return ticket and reached Jalandhar safely in late August 2026. He has since filed a complaint with the local police, seeking investigation and recovery of the lost funds.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of job‑seekers and travelers to bogus overseas‑placement scams, prompting calls for stricter monitoring of unregistered travel agencies.
According to reports, the agent collected a sum of ₹7.5 lakh from Hardeep under the pretext of visa processing, flight bookings and accommodation for the Portugal journey. When the promised arrangements failed to materialise, Hardeep was left stranded in Cambodia, unable to return home for nearly a year and a half.
After persistent efforts by his family and local contacts, Hardeep secured a return ticket and reached Jalandhar safely in late August 2026. He has since filed a complaint with the local police, seeking investigation and recovery of the lost funds.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of job‑seekers and travelers to bogus overseas‑placement scams, prompting calls for stricter monitoring of unregistered travel agencies.