Punjab Police have finally set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the human trafficking case to facilitate illegal entry into the US via Nicaragua and France after 276 passengers were transported back to India from France this past week.
Punjab Police got into action since out of the list of 276 passengers who were made to return, 148 belonged to Punjab.
The four-member SIT investigation has been ordered by the Director of the Bureau of Investigation, LK Yadav.
As per the order, “A Nicaragua human trafficking case has been reported in various newspapers where 303 passengers from India, mostly belonging to Punjab and Gujarat, have been detained by French authorities. Given the sensitivity and seriousness of the matter, a Special Investigation Team is hereby constituted to investigate offences of human trafficking involved in the matter, including forward and backward linkages associated with aforesaid human trafficking.”
The investigative members of the SIT are Jasroop Kaur Baath, Balkar Singh Sandhu, Dalbir Singh Sidhu, and Chairperson SP Randhir Kumar.
Sources say an immigration agent from Jalandhar is under the radar for facilitating the travel of several of these youths from Punjab. The final destination of these youth was the United States through Nicaragua and Mexico. This route is the most common one for illegal immigration to the US.
Many consultants even charge Rs 40-50 lakh per person promising a safe entry into the US. In the year 2023, about 97,000 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally. This is about 49,000 more compared to the year 2022, according to data made available by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).