{Donkey route} Dera Bassi man dies in Cambodia, agent booked

The agent promised to send Randeep to Canada but instead sent him to Cambodia, where he died of tetanus, the family said in an FIR

Dera Bassi police on Sunday booked an Ambala-based travel agent after 22-year-old man of Sheikhpura Kalan village died in Cambodia while attempting to reach Canada through an illegal route.

Randeep Singh

The family of Randeep Singh has alleged that the agent, identified as Vikram Singh, promised them of legal migration to Canada and demanded ₹42 lakh, but instead, the youth was sent through “donkey route”.

Randeep, who was en route to Canada, reportedly died in Cambodia on February 21. He left home in April last year.

According to Ravi Kumar, Randeep’s elder brother, the family initially planned to help Randeep start his own business as he has studied up to the eighth standard. However, Vikram convinced them to send him abroad promising legal migration.

“Vikram Singh promised us to send my brother to Canada in lieu of ₹22 lakh. Being a relative, we trusted him and gave him money. He sent my brother abroad in April last year. Randeep had to travel to multiple countries due to which he got sick. The agent sought money for his treatment too. My brother died in Cambodia on February 21,” Ravi said in his police complaint.

“The agent promised to send my brother to abroad legally for ₹42 lakh but Randeep did not reach Canada as promised. Instead, he was taken to Vietnam and then Cambodia illegally. He first stayed in Vietnam for three months before being taken to Cambodia. The agent’s associates confiscated his passport in Cambodia leaving him helpless. Randeep found work at a restaurant in Cambodia, but he was only provided food and shelter and was not paid because he did not have his passport. His health deteriorated due to a tetanus infection. When he became seriously ill, his employer abandoned him due to medical expenses, and he was forced to sleep in a park,” Ravi said while talking to the media.

On February 21, the family received a phone call from a Hoshiarpur native who was staying with Randeep in Cambodia. He informed them about Randeep’s death.

“We have filed a complaint with Dera Bassi police and want strict action against the agent,” Ravi said.

Ravi also claimed that the agent had promised to send Randeep to the US after a short stay in Canada.

Randeep’s father, Balwinder Singh, a daily wage labourer, has urged the state government to help bring his son’s body back to India for the last rites. “ We took loans to send Randeep abroad,” he said.

Dera Bassi AAP MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa visited the grieving family and assured them of assistance. “I have requested the concerned state ministers to help the family bring back their son’s body. Strict action must be taken against agents who endanger young lives through illegal migration,” Randhawa said.

Following the police investigation, the agent has been booked under Sections 318(4) (cheating) and 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) of the BNS, along with relevant sections of the Punjab Travel Professionals (Regulation) Act and the Emigration Act.

The police are also investigating whether he had connections with other illegal immigration networks.

The incident has highlighted the growing issue of illegal immigration, which came into focus after the recent deportation of Indian migrants from the US.

On February 5, a US military aircraft landed in Amritsar, carrying 104 deported Indian immigrants, including 30 from Punjab.

On February 15, another flight brought back 117 illegal immigrants, including 65 from Punjab. The next day, a third US military aircraft arrived in Amritsar with 112 deported Indian migrants, bringing the total number of deportees to 333 as part of the US government’s crackdown on illegal migration.