Chandigarh, Feb 12: A Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to probe the issue of illegal human trafficking following the deportation of Indian citizens domiciled in Punjab from the US, has registered two more FIRs against fraudulent immigration consultants, the state police said on Wednesday. With this, police have now registered 10 FIRs against travel agents on the basis of statements of the deportees.
A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants, including 30 from Punjab, landed at the Amritsar airport on February 5. This was the first batch of Indians to be deported by the Donald Trump government as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.
The latest FIRs were filed on Tuesday against agents who allegedly deceived people with false promises of facilitating illegal entry into the United States, resulting in their deportation, according to a statement issued by the Punjab Police here.
Six people have been booked in the fresh FIRs lodged in Hoshiarpur and Tarn Taran districts under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Emigration Act.
The SIT, headed by Additional DGP (NRI Affairs) Praveen Sinha, has been investigating complaints from deportees who were allegedly defrauded by travel agents with false promises of illegal entry into the US.
Meanwhile, DGP Gaurav Yadav reaffirmed the Punjab Police’s commitment to acting against the chain of fraudulent immigration networks and putting an end to the exploitation of vulnerable individuals. (PTI)
