CHANDIGARH: Kabootarbazi (human trafficking) is back in the glare with the government announcing the deaths in Iraq of 37 Indian workers, 27 of whom are believed to be from Punjab. The arrest and release on bail of Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi in a 15-year-old trafficking case had also created ripples a few days ago. Although Punjab is the only state to have enacted a law on human trafficking — Punjab Travel Professionals Regulation (PTPR) Act, 2012 — reports say over 20,000 youths go abroad illegally every year with help from unregistered travel agents. There are only about 1,181 registered agents in Punjab as opposed to countless illegal ones.
According to figures available with Punjab Police, only 752 human trafficking cases were registered from April 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018 under the PTPR Act. Of these, 91 cases were registered under IPC Sections 420 and 406 (cheating and criminal misappropriation), 515 cases under the Emigration Act, 1983, and 146 cases for other offences.The only authentic data available is from a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, entitled ‘Smuggling of Migrants from India to Europe and in particular to UK from Punjab and Haryana, 2009’. It was released in 2010.
According to the report, over 20,000 youths try to go abroad illegally every year from the districts of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr in Punjab and Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal in Haryana. The youths apparently use forged visas of 41 countries. Unemployment and the perception that migration is the best alternative have been listed as key reasons behind trafficking.
Since the 2009 report, no proper study has been done, nor is any data available with the government or any agency on illegal migration. Experts estimate the figures are much higher now.
Sources said the illegal immigration business was worth over Rs 1,500 crore annually. Explaining how illegal travel agents operated, they said youths headed for Europe were first sent to African countries on tourist visas and then transported by boat across the seas. Those headed for the US were sent to South American countries on tourist visas, then to Mexico and across the border into the US. Those headed for West Asia were sent on work visas to a Gulf country and then illegally sent to another.
According to Anil Malhotra, lawyer and expert on private international law, smuggling of migrants was a “highly profitable business with low risk of detention”. He said, “This business is becoming more and more organised, in which professional networks are flourishing transcending global borders. Despite the PTPR Act, 2012, illegal migration is unchecked as agents do not register under this Act. The need of the hour is to enact an all-India human smuggling Act. Also, strict enforcement is required against agents who indulge in recruitment under the garb of consultancy.” Malhotra said travel agents had challenged the validity of the Act in court. “They contend that only the central government can enact such a law,” he said.
Trafficking stats
20,000 youths go abroad illegally every year with help from unregistered travel agents
1,181 registered agents in Punjab and countless illegal ones
752 human trafficking cases registered from April 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018