-SATISH HANDA
USA government sent another 162 youths including 76 hailing from Haryana state in a flight to Amritsar airport on June 2, 2020 lodged in their jails after their arrests due to illegal entry in their country. Earlier, 132 youths including 56 hailing from Haryana state were sent to Amritsar airport last week, of them more than 60 youths had lodged complaints against immigration agents with police in Haryana allegedly cheated them and sent abroad on the basis of fake documents. Now the total number of victims in Haryana state cheated by immigration agent reaches 148 and approached Haryana Home Minister Anil VIj and narrated their pathetic stories how they were cheated by immigration agents, lured by rosy pictures to earn handsome money in abroad on work permit or admission in popular universities for higher education and sent them abroad after getting huge money worth lakhs of rupees arranged by their parents selling properties or gold jewellery but they were abandoned in jungles in United States at the mercy of god and disappeared when they had to spend days and nights empty stomach, arrested by police or army in USA allegedly having no documents and put behind bars in jails..
Talking to media persons, Anil Vij expressed deep concern over the attitude of immigration agents including few high profile persons as well as a senior political leaders cheated large number of innocent youths both males and females in the state and told that such cheats will not be spared at any cost. Vij told that as many as 73 FIRs has already been registered with police stations directed police in the state to take stern action against accused irrespective of a highly influential person or a political leader. He said, an SIT has been constituted to investigate the case led by Bharti Arora IGP Karnal and six intelligent IPS officers in the state Nazneen Bhasin, Rahul Sharma, Himanshu Garg, Lokender Singh, Shashank Kumar and Mohit Handa.
Information reveals, since past few years youths in our country are seen much interested to settle abroad especially in USA, Australia, Canada and Arab countries dreaming to earn money and are often trapped in the net of such cheat immigration agents having five star offices to attract youths with the help of brokers in rural as well as urban areas. Earlier, youths in Punjab were much interested to settle abroad and later the trend was seen among youths in Haryana state also and large number of immigration agents set up their offices in the state at Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Fatehabad, Hisar and Sirsa to trap innocent unemployed youths in their net. Not only this, several cases of human trafficking are being reported in which youths assured jobs were sent to Iraq, Dubai and Arab countries by such cheat immigration agents illegally, forced to work day and night empty stomach without emoluments as bonded labourers.
On the condition of anonymity, a broker in Naraingarh area working for a immigration agent at Mohali disclosed that most of the immigration agents are having brokers in rural areas to attract youths willing to settle abroad and initially collect meagre amount ranging between Rs 5000 to Rs 10000 towards registration cum consultancy charges , assuring them lucrative jobs through fake work permits, collect part payment, send them abroad via countries including Thailand, Mylasia and Srilanka on tourist visa from where they are further sent to destinations after collecting balance amount and disappear when victims find themselves cheated and are forced to work as bonded labourer or sent behind bars when found having no document. The agent told that usually immigration agents charge amount between Rs 30000 to 35000 lakh for sending to Canada and USA, Rs 25000 to 30000 lakh for sending to Australia, Rs 20000 to 25000 lakh for sending to Italy, Rs 15000 to 20000 lakh for sending to Dubai and Rs 10000 to 15000 lakh for sending to Arab countries.
