Cops deployed to nab illegal travel agents in Gurdaspur

Ravi Dhaliwal

Dinanagar (Gurdaspur), March 8

The police tightened the noose around illegal travel agents. SSP Harish Dayama has asked his officers to fan out in the rural areas and small townships to identify and arrest illegal travel agents.

A fly-by-night travel agent disclosed that agents operated in small towns where the risk of getting caught was “almost negligible”.

Agent’s confession

We operate from houses taken on rent and target village youth. We initially send them to countries like Romania, Serbia, Malta and even war-ravaged Ukraine from where we ask them to take the ‘donkey route’ to western European countries and the US. A travel agent

“We operate from houses taken on rent and target gullible village youth. We initially send them to countries like Romania, Serbia, Malta and even war-ravaged Ukraine from where we ask them to take the ‘donkey route’ to western European countries and the US,” he said.

Dayama said he had intensified the drive after news surfaced that three Gurdaspur boys had gone missing somewhere in Ukraine after they were forced to join the Russian forces. All three had been tricked by fake travel agents, who had promised them “decent job” in Russia. However, once they reached Russia, they did not get any job. Desperate, they travelled to Belarus without legal papers where they were caught and handed over to the Russian forces. “On a rough estimate, we are registering 10 cases every month under various sections of the IPC. I have formed special teams to deal with this menace,” said the SSP.

The police have not registered any FIR in the case of the three boys, who are stranded in Ukraine.

Sukhwinderpal Singh, DSP, Dinanagar, said, “We can register an FIR only after somebody from the boys’ families files a written complaint with us.

Sources say initially the families were apprehensive of sharing details with the police fearing their wards might get entangled into more problems. “We are already under tremendous stress because of our missing boys. Once the cops step in, we may face more problems,” said a villager of Awankha.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh visited Awankha and Dehriwal Kiran villages to meet the families. The third boy is identified as Ravneet Singh of Dehriwal Kiran village.