Man from Patiala gets drugged and robbed in Mira Road

MUMBAI: A 28-year-old man from Punjab who thought he was landing a job in the US ended up sedated and robbed of his dollars in a lodge in Kashimira, Mira Road. The police have registered a case against four unidentified men for causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit an offence (IPC's section 328) and theft (section 380).

Gurvinder Singh flew into Mumbai from Amritsar on May 9, along with an agent, Ramesh. He was promised a visa to California , where he could work with his uncle in his liquor shop. The uncle, in the US for 35 years, promised him the job if he could make it to the US on his own.

At the airport, Gurvinder and Ramesh were met by two men. All arrived at Sapna Lodge, Kashimira, where Gurvinder was supposed to spend time before leaving for the US. Around 9 pm that day, they ordered drinks and food. In under an hour, Gurvinder fell unconscious. When he woke up late the next day, he found himself in a nearby hospital. The lodge staff had seen three men leaving the premises. As Gurvinder had not stepped out of the room the entire day on May 10, the staff became suspicious and entered his room using a duplicate key, only to find him unconscious. He was taken to hospital and the police informed.

When Gurvinder regained consciousness, he found that $10,000 dollars (around Rs 7 lakh), his passport, Aadhaar card, and PAN card were missing. In his police complaint, Gurvinder, who hails from Patiala , told the police that four months ago he met an agent, Swarna Singh, in Bathinda , Punjab. Swarna introduced him to Ramesh, who initially took Rs 3,000 from Gurvinder.

In the first week of May, Ramesh told him about going to Mumbai, where his visa would be arranged. He was told to carry at least $10,000. Gurvinder had around $4,000 in hand, and arranged the remaining amount by selling the wheat crop grown in his field, he told the police. Gurvinder obtained his passport five years ago, and had been trying to go to California since then.