Tightening the noose around illegal travel agents in the state, the Punjab government has directed top civil and police officials to identify unscrupulous agencies and take stern legal action against them.

Acting on the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s directive, Home Secretary NS Kalsi has issued a directive to all the deputy commissioners (DCs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs) to crack down on illegal travel agents.

They have been directed to take series of measures to ensure strict compliance with the laws and legislations governing the licensing and operations of travel agents. The measures include regular update and public display of the list all licensed travel agents, as well as their regular physical verification, at least once a year.

As part of its drive against such unscrupulous agents, the government has come out with a set of new guidelines and instructions.

The Advisory on Effective Implementation of Law & Rules for Regulation of Travel Agents in Punjab expresses the state government’s deep concern about the unscrupulous travel agents carrying out illegal activities by giving false promises to the citizens, especially the youth, for getting them settled abroad by charging huge amounts.

In the process, the citizens are getting defrauded and sometimes landing in foreign prisons as illegal entrants, it says, adding that most of these persons are fly-by-night operators and are cheating people by committing frauds.

Sometimes, even more heinous crimes like kidnappings and confining people in illegal custody have also been reported, says the Advisory.

To ensure strict compliance with the rules and regulations, it has been decided that all registered travel agents should display their registered license number prominently and provide a receipt to their clients.

Further, all DCs have been directed to ensure that the district web portal includes the details of all the registered travel agents in the district.

Whenever any instance of misuse of the license or un-registered travel agents come to notice, legal action against them is required to be taken under the Indian Penal Code and also Section 13(1) of the Act, says the Advisory.

The Advisory further directs that registration number of a travel agent should be prominently mentioned in an advertisement. It will be mandatory for any student desirous of pursuing studies abroad through a travel agent to attach a certificate from the agent with his application for clearance certificate from the district police.