Punjab: 11 deportees mortgaged their properties to pay travel agents

Punjab: Eleven of the 117 deportees who landed at Amritsar airport from the US on Saturday are from Gurdaspur district. The deportees are from villages and small towns where employment opportunities are few but they fell prey to unscrupulous travel agents. All of them were reportedly lured by the agents who charged them exorbitant sums to ensure safe passage to the US. According to the police, none of the agents involved had a valid licence. The deportees include Harjeet Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Harjit Singh, Princepal Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Ravinder Singh, Shahnazpreet Singh, Gurmel Singh, Narottam Singh, Gurmel Singh and Satnam Singh. Seven of them had to cross the dangerous jungles of Panama. Harjeet barely had two acres of land which he had to sell while Ravinder borrowed money from private moneylenders at 40 per cent annual interest.

SSP Harish Dayama said the police have formed a special cell to identify the agents and take action against them. He said, “We have information that some agents rent out their licences to other people, which is wrong. We have identified some of them.” “Immigration fraud has become a serious issue in Majha. Scamsters and fraudulent immigration companies have found ways to exploit the dreams of people wishing to go abroad by promising visas, university placements and a bright future. These immigration firms often operate as part of an elaborate nexus that spans several countries. These networks include bogus consultants and local handlers. Their cunning makes it difficult for people to distinguish between legitimate and fake service providers,” a police officer said.