US deportee alleges fraud; 2 immigration agents booked

The Kapurthala police continue to be on the lookout for two immigration agents after a Sultanpur Lodhi-based US deportee accused them of defrauding him and charging more than the agreed amount to ensure a “safe passage” to that country through the “dunki route”.

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Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Taraf Nehbal Bahadur village, said the agents took extra money from his family in his absence. The police booked immigration agents Maninder, a resident of Sherpur in Ludhiana, and Dharminder, a resident of Paharganj in Delhi, under relevant provisions of the BNS, including charges of cheating, trafficking of people and the breach of trust.

Gurpreet, a Class 10 pass-out, said he had got Maninder Singh’s contact number from a friend.

Gurpreet said Maninder told him that he would be sent to the US via Mexico for Rs 38 lakh within a month. Gurpreet alleged that even though the original agreed amount was Rs 38 lakh, the two agents took Rs 40 lakh from his family. Additional Inspector General of Police (NRI wing), Jalandhar, Balvir Singh Bhatti said, “The agents will be traced soon.”

Gurpreet had taken a flight to Guyana on August 28 and reached there the next day. An associate of the agents, took him to a hotel, where Gurpreet stayed for 25 days. From Guyana, he was taken to Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia, and onwards on foot through the “dunki route” to Panama. Arrested right out of Panama, he along with three others, was kept in a camp by the police for 15 days. Then a police bus took them to Honduras and Guatemala. From Guatemala, donkers took them to Mexico. On January 15th, he crossed over to the US, where he was arrested.