E-Paper
Flight from France: ‘Returnees’ in Punjab tighlipped fearing action
The person’s kin are not willing to divulge more details fearing police action but said that they had paid ₹4 lakh to an agent for the work permit to Dubai
One of the person who was onboard the flight sent back to India from France had gone to Dubai on a work visa two months ago and was supposed to reach the United States via Nicaragua and Mexico, said a family member of one 276 persons deported from France.
The person’s kin are not willing to divulge more details fearing police action but said that they had paid ₹4 lakh to an agent for the work permit to Dubai. “The next instalment was to be paid when the person would have reached Nicaragua and another one was due when he would have reached Mexico. The final was to be paid on reaching the United States,” the person said.
Of the 276 passengers sent back from France to India, nearly 70% hail from Punjab and most of them are in their early 30s and mid-20s, according to the passenger list.
According to the list, accessed by HT, most of the passengers have Punjabi surnames. The remaining passengers are believed to be from Gujarat, neighbouring Nepal and other countries, reveals the list.
A police official, who didn’t wish to be named, said police have started a discreet investigation.
As per reports, the name of Hyderabad-based migration consultant Shashi Kiran Reddy has come up during the initial probe, a police official said, adding that things will get clearer in the coming days.
Of the 276 passengers, three are from Jalandhar district and are not ready to speak to mediapersons.
Jalandhar-rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said the district police and administration have received no list of returnees belonging to Jalandhar to date.
A Jalandhar-based travel agent, who did not wish to be named, said that the cost of entry into the United States through the ‘donkey route’ is between ₹40-45 lakh and the payment is in instalments for each destination. “For instance, if a US aspirant paid ₹4 lakh for a Dubai or some other country work permit, then the next payment will be made when the passenger reaches the next destination of his ‘dunki’ route. Mostly, there are no police complaints as the travel agents involved return the money if the person fails to reach his or her final destination,” he said.
In all, 303 people were on board the Legend Airlines charter flight, which was detained at Vatry airport near Paris after the French authorities suspected a human trafficking angle on December 21. The flight remained stationed for four days before as many as 276 passengers were sent back, while 25 passengers including two minors sought asylum from French immigration authorities.
