A 35-year-old man allegedly died by suicide on Sundayin Dundahera after he travelled to Mauritius for earning livelihood but was forced to return due to invalid travel documents, police said. He had purportedly taken loan from money lenders, but police said he possessed tourist visa provided by an agent instead of a work visa. Investigators said passersby spotted the victim in an empty plot in front of his accommodation at around 7.15am on Sunday and informed police. (Representational image)

According to police, the deceased was from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh and lived in a rented accommodation in Dundahera for the last eight years. Police said he worked in a garment export factory in Udyog Vihar.

Investigators said passersby spotted him in an empty plot in front of his accommodation at around 7.15am on Sunday and informed police.

“He had travelled to Mauritius with one other person and they both had plans to work in a garment factory there. However, they had tourist visas, so they were not permitted to work in the country. Thus, they were forced to return to India on June 20,” an officer said. He reached Delhi on June 24.

The man’s nephew told HT that his uncle had taken ₹1 lakh loan on exorbitant interest rates from two money lenders in Maharajganj to bear expenses for the travel documents including flight tickets, visa, and accommodation.

“Besides, he had also taken about ₹20,000 from his relatives, which was all the savings he carried. Almost all the money was spent on travelling to Mauritius,” the nephew said.

He alleged that someone at his current workplace had told his uncle that he could earn upto ₹70,000 per month in a similar factory in Mauritius. “Here, he was earning around ₹20,000. Through that same colleague, he came in contact with an agent, who arranged for him the tourist visa and air tickets to fly to Bangalore, then Mumbai, and finally Mauritius,” he added.

“The colleague had promised my uncle that he could work on a tourist visa for some months and a work visa will subsequently be arranged. However, he was not even allowed to enter the factory there,” he said, adding that his uncle was unaware of types of visas, so he believed his colleague and ended up paying money to him and the agent.

“Now he was under extreme pressure as money lenders were behind him for repayment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sandeep Kumar, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said though the family has not alleged any foul play, they were investigating the case from an angle of travel fraud too. Currently, an inquiry is being carried out under Section 194 (suicide and unnatural deaths) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

“If any fraud comes to light, we will register an FIR. The body has been handed over to the family after an autopsy,” Kumar said.