Sukhjinder Singh Sardar G
The youths were abducted and sent to Indonesia on the pretext of sending them to America. People from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were targeted.
There was a time when 35-year-old Sukhjinder dreamed of immigrating to America for a better life like millions of other youngsters. But now the word ‘America’ makes Sukhjinder tremble.
“Now I am afraid to talk about America, and when someone talks about going abroad in front of me, my body trembles. It ruined everything for me,” he says.
The cause of this calamity lies in the way Sukhjinder chose to go to America.
Sukhjinder, who lives in Taran Taran, was introduced to Sunny Kumar, who lives in Bali, through one of his relatives. Sukhjinder said that Sunny Kumar had promised to smuggle him into the US through Mexico.
It was decided that Sukhjinder would first go to Bali and then plan to go to America from there. It was decided that he should pay Rs 45 lakh for this.
Cheating by claiming to send people abroad is not a new thing in Punjab. The Bali ticket was sent to him without any advance payment. Because of this, Sukhjinder believed in this opportunity. But his life took an unexpected turn.
“When I came to Bali, Sunny Kumar took me to a house and locked me in the room. They kept me hostage there for 23 days,” says Sukhjinder.
He was severely beaten while imprisoned. Due to this, he told his family over the phone that he had reached America and to pay Rs 45 lakh to Sunny Kumar. His dream of immigrating to America was shattered. And he returned home suffering a lot.
Jaswinder Singh of Taran Taran tells a similar story. He also fell prey to the same gang’s scam and arrived in Bali on October 5, 2022. He was also imprisoned there for about 18 days. And to get out of there the goons had to pay 45 lakh rupees.
“Not only Punjabi youths but also youths from four other Indian states have become victims of human trafficking gangs operating from Bali, Indonesia,” said Mohali’s DSP Dilsher Singh.
image source, Mohali Police
Arrested
How does this mob work?
The direct statements of the victims of this scam and police investigation revealed that the gang has no office in Punjab.
Advertisements of agencies and companies that send people to all parts of the world can be seen all over Punjab. But this gang’s advertisement is nowhere to be found.
These gangs use mobile phones to target people. Usually middle-class youths who are given a ticket to Bali without any down payment start believing in it.
Those middle-class youth arrive in Bali hoping to be taken to America via Mexico.
Manpreet Patiala
But they are kept there as hostages and severely beaten to get bail from their families.
Victims had to find their own way to return home after paying bail for their release.
Police said the gang has been active for the past two years and targets uneducated youth.
As Indonesia and Singapore provide ‘Visa on Arrival’ facility to Indian citizens, the youth are taken to those countries. Air ticket fares to these countries are also cheaper compared to many nearby countries.
Manpreet Patiala
Who is the leader of the gang?
Mohali police say two of the leaders of the gang are Indians. Sunny Kumar, a resident of Indonesia, hails from Saleria Kurd in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab.
Sanjay alias Jasveer Singh lives in Singapore. But he has connections with Jalandhar in Punjab. Some gang members operate from Punjab.
Others are in Bali. Members in Punjab are tasked with collecting money from family members of people held hostage.
At the same time, members of gangs operating from Bali first take the youth to Bali and then hold them hostage, police said.
Police arrested the wife and father of Punjab resident Sunny Kumar and recovered Rs 1.5 crore from them. Apart from this, the police have also arrested another woman who was working with the gang. However, gang leaders are still in Indonesia.
image source, Mohali Police
Arrested
Targeted rural youth
Manpreet Singh of Pahal Kalan village in Patiala also fell victim to the gang. He worked in a private company. But it was difficult to support the family on that salary.
So he wanted to travel to America and fell in with an agent in Rajpura. Sukhjinder also said that the agricultural land is not enough for his family’s livelihood.
Jasveer Singh of Phal village also sold his agricultural land to go to America. He also took a loan. “Now the lender is asking for the money back. I don’t know what to do.” He says.
The trend of Punjabi youth going to America is not new. One reason for this is the people who migrated from Punjab and succeeded in America. Mostly young people from Punjab try to move to America to achieve similar success.
It is easier for people with money and education to immigrate legally. But uneducated youths do not have that option. Hence they often fall into the trap of fake agents and fraud gangs.
Vishal Kumar from Patiala is another victim of this scam. “Educated youth pass IELTS and go abroad. But uneducated people like me try to go there illegally,” he says.
He passed his 10th standard examination and did not get any job. Because of that he fell into the trap of this gang. He had to pay money to escape from them and save his life.
Ranjit Singh Ghuman, a prominent economist in Punjab, says that unemployment, drug addiction and gang activity are making the youth feel that there is no future in the state and prefer to migrate abroad.
“There are not enough employment opportunities in the state due to lack of investment. It drives the youth abroad..,” he says. According to the Economic Survey 2021-22, the unemployment rate in Punjab was 7.2 percent. It was 7.1% in rural areas and 7.5% in urban areas.
Ghuman pointed out that more investment should be made in Punjab to create more jobs to prevent the youth from going abroad.
Manpreet and Jasvir Singh Patiala
Scams that break the law
The Punjab Traveling Professionals Act 2014 is in force in the state to prevent illegal human trafficking.
In January this year, the Jalandhar administration canceled the licenses of 239 immigration consultants and 129 IELTS centers for violating the rules.
Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner of Police said that 1320 immigration consultants, international ticket booking agents and owners of IELTS centers in Jalandhar district have also been served notices and the licenses of 495 such persons have been cancelled.
”Despite strict laws to catch fake agents, they continue to operate unhindered. Because legal processes are often long and complicated,” says Ranjit Singh Ghuman.
Many times those who try to go abroad illegally die in accidents, but the youth of Punjab are willing to go abroad at any cost, says Ghuman.
Sukhjinder Singh Sardar G
Why the fascination with traveling to America illegally?
The trend of Indians illegally crossing the Mexican border into the US, especially from the state of Punjab, is a very old one.
Some enter the United States illegally from Canada. But most choose the Mexican route.
Agents accept money from illegal immigrants to help them cross the border wall along the Mexico-US border.
According to the US Customs and Border Protection, the number of Indians trying to enter the US illegally from the Mexican border continues to rise.
Statistics show that 19,883 Indians were arrested while illegally entering the US in 2020. This number increased in 2021.
30,662 Indians were arrested that year. In 2022, 63,927 Indians were arrested for illegally entering the US.
Crossing the Mexican border into the US is not easy. The ‘Mexico border’ hit Indian news in 2019 when a six-year-old girl from Punjab died in Arizona. The child entered the United States illegally with her mother through the Mexican border. But died due to 42 degree heat.
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