4 from Punjab's Samana robbed, starved on ‘donkey route’ to US

Tribune News Service

Patiala, August 27

Four Samana-based youths, who opted for the “donkey route” to reach the US for work, had to remain hungry for days and once survived on just biscuits for an entire week.

Along the way, they were robbed and their phones and shoes snatched. They had to trek barefoot and were made to sleep on the floor in a room without a fan or a window.

The four, who were left to fend for themselves in Spain, finally managed to reach the US after paying another agent Rs 25 lakh, in addition to the Rs 35 lakh they had already paid to an agent earlier. They were part of a group of around 10 youngsters, mostly Indians, trying their luck to make it to the US.

“We slept on one bed with no food or electricity. After every couple of days, we were told that the visa permits had got delayed and that we should not get caught till the US documents arrive,” recalled one of the youngsters, who got stuck in Spain for weeks last year en route to the US.

The police said the parents (complainants) of the four youths — Gaganpreet Singh, Harwinder Singh, Jugraj Singh and Gurwinder Singh — approached the Samana-based travel agent who had allegedly assured them of a work visa to the US.

“The agent told us that he would charge Rs 35 lakh each and would send the four within two months. We handed over Rs 2 lakh and the four passports to the agent in February 2023,” the complainants told the police.

The complainants sold their property, land and even mortgaged their jewellery to arrange the money to see their wards settle in the US.

“The agent said he would take our children to Delhi from where they would fly to Serbia and then to Austria. Later, they would reach Spain from where he would arrange their work visa for the US, assuring us that board and lodging for them would be arranged throughout the way,” reads the complaint, a copy of which is with The Tribune.

“However, we were shocked when after nearly a month, we received a call from our children who said they were stuck in Spain in a dingy room with no food and water. It was only after several attempts that they finally managed a mobile phone and contacted their parents,” said Patiala SSP Nanak Singh.

“The parents then tried to contact the agent, who refused to entertain their queries and even refused to meet them. The parents had to then approach another agent and cough up another Rs 25 lakh each to finally help the four get a work visa in the US,” he said.

A thorough probe will reveal if more such students were sent by agents through the “donkey route” as the matter needs an indepth probe. “We will not spare any agent found linked to this illegal human trafficking trade,” said the SSP.

Youths warn against taking illegal route

We made it alive to the US, thanks to our parents. Our appeal to every Punjabi is never to take the illegal route. — Victims