MUMBAI: The Esplanade metropolitan magistrate court last week rejected the bail application of three persons arrested in connection with the South Korean visa racket.

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The court rejected the pleas of the trio, including Indian Navy officials Brahmajyoti Sharma, 29, and Vipin Kumar Dagar, 28, observing that the accused were responsible persons holding positions in the Indian Navy and were involved in the scam. Additional chief judicial magistrate Vinod Ramrao Patil further said that the investigation is still in progress and the alleged offences are serious while rejecting the plea.

In June this year, the crime branch officials arrested five individuals for allegedly sending 10 unskilled labours to South Korea on tourist visas by submitting forged documents like medical certificates and bank statements by charging ₹10 lakh each. Once the candidates reached South Korea, they discarded their passports and sought asylum, alleging persecution and human rights violations in the ‘conflict zone’ Jammu and Kashmir.

The two navy officers, Lieutenant Commander Vipin Dagar and sub-lieutenant Brahmajyoti Sharma were the alleged kingpins of the racket. The three others arrested in the case who had applied for bail are Simaran Teji, Ravi Kumar and Deepak Dogra. The gang members used to look for candidates who wanted to settle down in South Korea.

In Dagar’s case, the defence said that he had served in the Indian Navy for six years and no sanction was taken by the agency before taking any action against him. Stating that he was wrongly incarcerated in the present crime, the defence said, “His custody may result in his termination from the service due to sudden absence from duty”.

The prosecution submitted that Sharma along with Dagar committed conspiracy and forged documents required for travelling abroad. “Fourteen Indian passports of other persons including him have been seized from him. Moreover, about 108 rubber stamps, machines used for making rubber stamps and rubber sheets have been seized from the accused,” submitted the prosecution.

Further, requesting the court to reject the bail application of Teji, the prosecution stated that she had received a hefty sum of money from the account of one Deepak Mehra, and hence is a beneficiary of the amount involved in the offence. Praying for the court to reject the bail application of Teji, the defence submitted that she had no direct involvement in the forgery, adding that her role was minimal. Teji is alleged to be a close aide of Sharma, who opened a bank account in which they accepted the money from the aspirants.