Court denies bail in ‘dunki route’ case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a pre-arrest bail plea in a case involving the alleged illegal trafficking of a young man, who later died in the Ukraine war. The court asserted that several youths were on a daily basis being duped of their money and victimised on the pretext of sending them abroad.

“For conducting a thorough and proper investigation in the matter, custodial interrogation of the petitioner is a must. In case his custodial interrogation is denied to the investigating agency, that will leave many glaring loopholes and gaps thereby adversely affecting the investigation,” Justice Batra asserted.

The case registered on September 27 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Immigration Act in Kaithal district has its genesis in a complaint lodged by a woman alleging that the accused induced her family to pay Rs 8.10 lakh on the promise of sending her brother to Germany. “He took the amount from them and sent him to Russia through a dunki route, where he was forced to join war,” the Bench was told.