Punjab: 11 deportees mortgaged their properties to pay travel agents
Eleven of the 117 deportees who landed at the Amritsar airport on Saturday from the US hail from Gurdaspur district.
The deportees, who belong to villages and small towns having rare employment opportunities, have become unsuspecting victims of unscrupulous travel agents.
All of them were allegedly lured by agents, who charged them exorbitant amounts while ensuring a safe passage to the US. None of the agents involved had a valid licence, according to the police.
These deporteed are Harjit Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Harjit Singh, Princepal Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Ravinder Singh, Shehnajpreet Singh, Gurmail Singh, Narottam Singh, Gurmail Singh and Satnam Singh. Seven of them had to cross the dangerous jungles of Panama. Harjit had barely two acres of land that he had to sell while Ravinder borrowed money from private money lenders at interest of a whopping 40 per cent annum.
SSP Harish Dayama said the police had formed a special cell to identify the agents and take action against them. “We have information that some agents sublet their licences to other people, which is wrong. We have identified some of them,” he said.
"Immigration fraud has become a serious in Majha. Scammers and fraudulent immigration companies have found ways to exploit the dreams of people aspiring to go abroad by promising them visas, university placements and bright futures. These immigration firms often work as part of an elaborate nexus that spans across countries. These networks include fake consultants and local handlers. Their sophistication makes it difficult for people to distinguish between legitimate and fake service providers,” said a police official.
