Chasing US dreams, Ajnala, Attari youths land in Indonesian prison
Amritsar, July 8
The kin of two youth from Ajnala and Attari assembly constituency, who are imprisoned on murder charges in Indonesia, today made a plea for help as the families attempt to mobilise resources to fight a legal battle for their freedom. Seeking assistance, including financial aid, Shamsher Singh, a cousin of Ajaypal Singh, said that the families put their home and properties under mortgage to collect Rs 35 lakh to send the two youths to the US.
“The families are now left with no money, required to hire a lawyer and put up a good defence to ensure that Gurmej and Ajaypal can be freed. The two harboured dreams of going to the US and were duped and falsely implicated by the agents, including Sunny Kumar and Charanjit Singh Sodhi. We appeal to all organisations and individuals who can come forward to help us collect funds to fight their case,” said Shamsher.
Shamsher, who also hails from Dhanoya Modh village in Attari, is the maternal cousin of Ajaypal and works in Malaysia.
Gurmej Singh Gaggomahal from Ajnala and Ajaypal Singh Atari from Dhanoya Modh village left for the US on May 9 and reached Indonesia two days later, only to be abducted and duped of money by the accomplices of the agents, who promised to take them to the US. They were later arrested by the Indonesian police on murder charges of another youth. Delhi-based travel agent Charanjit Singh Sodhi, his accomplice Sunny Kumar and an unknown person have been booked in the case on the charge of cheating and human trafficking.
Meanwhile, the families now want government intervention to help the two get justice. “The agent has falsely implicated them and now they are looking at life imprisonment or even 10-20 years in jail, if convicted. We met them through a lawyer a few days back and they are not in a good condition. They do not know the language, and the prison conditions are much worse,” said Shamsher.
Kuldeep Singh, paternal uncle of Ajaypal, said that till date, the government agencies have not come forward to offer any help. “We have to follow the legal process and we would require financial help for that.” He also said that the government must act indiscriminately and punish frauds masquerading as agents. “This is not the sole incident where youth from Punjab have fallen prey to agents. Punjab government must crack the whip on agents who prey on the vulnerable youth chasing foreign dreams. No other child should suffer a similar fate and we hope that our children return home safe,” he said.
