Pandeshwar police bust visa racket

June 22, 2011

Mangalore, June 22: With the arrest of a person on Monday, Pandeshwar police have claimed to have busted a visa racket in which hundreds of youth aspiring for overseas employment were cheated.

The arrested is Damien Merchant who hails from Mumbai.

After a hot chase through the arterial roads in Mangalore, Damien was apprehended by his angry clients and handed over to Pandeshwar police station.

A cheated aspirant elaborating Merchant's modus operandi revealed that introducing himself as coordinator for Israel Embassy, Damien Merchant lured youngsters by promising lucrative jobs in Israel.

Initially he collected a onetime amount of Rs 5,000 from the gullible client. Then on the pretext of paying for medical expenses, he exhorted Rs 25, 000 to Rs 30, 000, from each visa aspirant, another youth said. Eight months ago, he has taken them for a medical test to Mumbai.

It was revealed that Damien Merchant operated in Bangalore, Udupi, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala.

When there was no sign of any visa, the clients waited for him.

A merchant who shuttles between Mangalore and Mumbai had directed potential customers to meet him near KSRTC bus stand in Bejai.

The ones cheated by him, waited for him and nabbed him when he arrived at Bejai Bus Stand. He succeeded in giving them a slip and sped towards Kuntikana. He was overpowered and given a sound thrashing by the agitated youth. Daniel Merchant promising to return the money took them to a bank in Valencia.

He gave his captors the slip again, only to be nabbed near Pandeshwar police station. When he claimed to be in possession of Rs. 5, 500 he was handed over to Pandeshwar police station.

Sources in Pandeshwar police station said that it was the biggest ever visa racket, as the imposter has allegedly cheated hundreds of youth.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Campus politics: DKS pushes to restore student elections in Karnataka banned since 1989

News Network

November 26,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

Comments