CHANDIGARH: Two days after 104 illegal Indian immigrants were deported by the United States, Punjab Police have registered a case against a 'fake' travel agent on charges of cheating. However, most other deportees are hesitant to get their statements recorded, making several excuses to the police.
Sources said that a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Rajasansi Police Station in Amritsar Rural Police District on February 6 under Sections 318(4) and 13 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Punjab Travel Professionals (Regulation) Act, 2014.
The case was filed against Satnam Singh of Kotli Khehra village on the complaint of Daler Singh of Salempura village in Rajasansi, Amritsar. Daler was among the 104 deported Indian migrants.
In his complaint, Daler alleged that Satnam had promised to send him to the US on a valid visa but instead sent him illegally. He endured hardships, including navigating treacherous trails in the Panama jungles.
"In 2023, my relative Gursevak Singh of Pindi Seda village introduced me to Satnam Singh, the travel agent, and a deal was struck for Rs 60 lakh to send me to the US. I deposited Rs 5 lakh into Satnam Singh’s account and gave him my passport. He arranged a visa for Nigeria, but I had to return as I could not get a further visa," Daler stated in his complaint.
He further alleged, "On August 15 last year, he sent me to Dubai, where I stayed for about six to seven days, and from there, I went to Brazil."
Daler claimed that on August 26, his wife, Charanjit Kaur, and his brother-in-law, Gursevak Singh, went to Satnam Singh’s house and handed him Rs 15 lakh in cash. A few days later, his wife deposited another Rs 4 lakh in Singh’s account. Additionally, Rs 2 lakh (Rs 1 lakh each) was paid to Singh via Google Pay.
"Then I reached Mexico after travelling through a few countries, and my wife and brother-in-law paid Rs 34 lakh to Singh. On January 15, I crossed into the US via the Mexico border," Daler added.
He alleged that the agreement with Singh was to send him legally to the US, but he was instead sent via the 'Dunki Route', thereby cheating him of Rs 60 lakh.
A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that of the 104 deportees, 30 are from Punjab, but most are not cooperating with the police.
"Police teams visited their homes to record their statements and understand the travel agents' nexus. Most of them are either refusing to take action or claiming they are not home and will contact the police later," he said.
This reluctance is not new. In December 2023, in the Nicaragua-bound flight case—where over 300 Indians, including around 200 from Punjab, were being illegally taken to the US—the Punjab Police made little progress as only two individuals came forward to lodge FIRs.
The state government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Ferozepur SP (Investigation) Randhir Kumar, which contacted 150 passengers, but most refused to register complaints.
In Amritsar district, where two cases were registered, a travel agent, Tarsem Singh, was arrested and later charged with duping victims by promising to take them to the US via the Dunki Route through Nicaragua. One complainant, Damanpreet, alleged that the accused took Rs 42 lakh from him.
