Punjab yet to begin probe into Nicaragua trafficking case

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, December 29

The police have not initiated the investigation into the Nicaragua ‘human trafficking’ case involving 303 passengers from India with several of them suspected to be from Punjab.

Officials attached with the NRI wing of the Punjab Police, besides the Punjab Bureau of Investigation and intelligence agencies said no specific information had been shared by the Central security agencies or the Gujarat Police, which were investigating the case.

At the same time, no person from the state has lodged a complaint regarding the human trafficking. “The police have a list of all the passengers and nearly 70 per cent of them are of Punjabi origin. However, it remains to be seen if they have disclosed real identity in passport or not,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

Another official said, “Usually, the Central agencies or the state police inform their counterparts to gather more information. However, no such communication has been received so far. The Punjab Police have not approached the Regional Passport Office so far.”

“It seems the passengers have gone into hiding fearing stern action against them by the security agencies. Maybe travel agents promised to refund money if the alleged plan to migrate abroad failed,” said a police official who investigated such human trafficking cases earlier.