Family sold plot, pledged property to send son abroad
Twenty-two-year-old Sahilpreet Singh’s deportation from the US has left his family shattered.
He is the second youth from Taraf Behbal Bahadur village in Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi who has been deported by the US authorities.
His inconsolable mother said they had sold their plot and pledged another piece of land to raise Rs 40 lakh sought by a travel agent to send him to the United States. The youth had left his village for the US over a month ago.
Sahilpreet’s grandfather Gurmeet Singh said the last time he talked to the youth over the phone when he was about to enter the US from its border with Mexico.
“Even getting enough to eat is a struggle. We borrowed money from relatives, sold a plot and even pledged a piece of land. Now, we’re afraid that we might lose this place (their home) too,” he said, adding that some of the promised amount is yet to be paid to the travel agent.
His wailing mother said, “We are very sad now. We would not have sent him abroad had he got a job here. He had even applied for a job with the police.”
Gurpreet Singh, who was deported from the US on a special military flight that landed at Amritsar on February 5, said he too was duped by travel agents and taken to the US through “perilous routes”. However, Sahilpreet’s agents are not the same as mine.”
Meanwhile, family of another deportee, Jashanpreet Singh from Pandori Rajputan village in Bholath, are relieved that he has made it to home.
Kuldeep Kaur, mother of 20-year-old Jashanpreet, said, “My son went to the US a month ago. He stayed at a detention camp for about a month. We spent Rs 40-45 lakh to send him abroad. For now, we are just thankful, he’s finally returning.”
She said Jashanpreet had gone to Spain in August 2024, where he contacted the agent who sent him to the US.
