E-Paper
Mohali police bust human trafficking ring, rescue 33 from Indonesia
The accused used to lure residents of Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh wishing to go to the United States of America or the Europe and later extort their family members after holding them captive.
In a major breakthrough, Mohali police rescued 33 immigration fraud victims who were duped, kidnapped and held captive on foreign shores by a gang involved in human trafficking.
The accused used to lure residents of Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh wishing to go to the United States of America or the Europe and later extort their family members after holding them captive.
Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Garg said, “The gang members used to tell the victims that they would take them to USA or Europe via Mexico and charge them only after that.” “They would then take the clients to Nepal or Indonesia, torture them and force them to call their kin to say they had reached Mexico. Once the kin paid up the gang members based in India, anywhere between ₹30 to 40 lakh, they would either leave the victims in Indonesia or make them board a return flight to India.” Navjot Singh of Kaithal, one of the victims, said, “I was kept captive in a house in Indonesia for 16 days. There were 10 others like me. My father, a farmer, paid ₹40 lakh to the agent.”
How the gang was busted?
The matter came to light after one of the captives managed to contact his family in Mohali.
A senior police officer revealed, “We were first approached by one Ashutosh Rana of Balongi who shared the miseries of his relatives and other victims in Indonesia. We immediately arrested the module operational here, including the wife of the key accused. Following this, the accused were forced to release the victims, who reached Chennai last week.”
Those arrested were identified as Baldish Kaur, Gurjit Singh, both residents of Jalandhar, Sahil, Som Raj and Veena Kumar from Mukerian in Hoshiarpur. Their accomplices who are yet to be arrested include Sunny Kumar, husband of Veena, who is in Indonesia, Jasvir Singh alias Sanjay, who is residing in Singapore, besides Sonia, Abhishek, Malkeet Singh, Tony, Bhupinder Singh alias Bhinda, Sandeep and Suman. SSP Garg said the accused didn’t have any registered immigration office in Mohali but used to contact the victims over phone.
The Mohali CIA team, led by SP (investigation) Amandeep Brar, deputy superintendent of police Gursher Sandhu and inspector Shiv Kumar, also recovered ₹2.13 crore and 64 tola gold from the accused. Four cars and seven mobile phones used in the crime were also seized. The SSP said, “People should only approach the registered immigration firms to avoid falling prey to illegal agents. We suspect the number of victims to be much higher, added SSP.
Modus operandi
Accused used to approach foreign aspirants in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and promise to take them to the USA or Europe via Mexico.
They would instead be taken to Nepal or Indonesia, tortured in captivity and forced to call home for money. Once the kin paid up – amount between ₹30 to 40 lakh – the gang would either leave the victims in Indonesia or make them board a return flight to India.
Helpline numbers
Victim can call up 9914055677 and 9501991108 for help.
