On complaint of US deportee: Farmer leader among four booked for human trafficking

The case was registered on the complaint of the US deportee Jaswinder Singh, 21, of Pandori Arrain village in Moga. Jaswinder was deported to India last week.

Four persons, including a farmer leader, were booked for human trafficking following a complaint filed by a US deportee, police officials said on Wednesday.

In his complaint, Jaswinder claimed that he visited Ekam Travels, which is run by Sukhwinder and Talwinder for advice to migrate to the US. (Representative Image)

The case was registered on the complaint of the US deportee Jaswinder Singh, 21, of Pandori Arrain village in Moga. Jaswinder had entered the US ‘illegally’ on December 27 and was deported to India last week.

The accused have been identified as Bhartiya Kisan Union (Totewal) state president Sukhwinder Singh, Talwinder Singh, and Pritam Kaur of Fatehgarh Panjtoor village in Moga and Gurpreet Singh, owner of Ekam Travels at Chandigarh.

The case was registered under sections 143 (human trafficking), 318(4) (cheating), 62(2) (attempting to commit offence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 24 of the Emigration Act at Dharamkot police station.

In his complaint, Jaswinder claimed that he visited Ekam Travels, which is run by Sukhwinder and Talwinder for advice to migrate to the US.

“They promised to send me on a three-year work permit on a direct flight to the US and sought ₹45 lakh. We sold our land for ₹40 lakh. My father delivered ₹30 lakh to Talwinder at his residence in the Tota Singh Wala village. Talwinder took me to an embassy in Chandigarh on November 15 and after a few days, they informed me that I had got the visa. He told me to go to New Delhi to take the flight. He gave me a ticket and my passport. After reaching Prague, I found out that it was a Schengen visa. Later, he told me to give the remaining money, which we deposited in their bank account,” Jaswinder said.

He added that the agents sent him to Spain and then to El Salvador on a flight. “After travelling through jungles, I reached the US by crossing the border, where I was arrested. These persons have committed fraud with me by sending me illegally to the US as part of a human trafficking ring,” he added in his complaint to the police.