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This Bird Has Flown

The Punjabi will go abroad. It feeds a dicey cottage industry.

Chander Suta Dogra

Updated on:

Flawed Flight
Here's the dark side of the illegal emigration story:
  • Punjab is the hub of the Rs 12,000 crore human trafficking racket
  • Agents enjoy political patronage, so little action is taken against them
  • 'Pigeons' pay anywhere between Rs 10-25 lakh and are forced to trek through Russia, Ukraine and the Czech republic to reach Austria. From there on, they are left to fend for themselves.
  • Several families have been ruined in their attempt to settle abroad
  • More than 30,000 'migrants' are languishing in jails abroad

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MP Katara with ‘pigeon’ Paramjit Kaur after his arrest

A
nother shocking case in 2001 was that of an official delegation of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) which which went to Vancouver for Baisakhi celebrations. The five priests on the trip scooted and never returned. A hue and cry was raised at the time after then SGPC secretary Gurbachan Singh Bachan took up the issue of religious delegations being used for human trafficking with the Akal Takht jathedar. Herb Dhaliwal, a federal minister in Canada who had recommended the visas, was even censured by immigration authorities there. Gurbachan Singh told Outlook: "These things happen quite frequently in Punjab but no action is ever taken. Voices like mine are ignored."

A recent documentary by Sabyasachi Jain with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) throws light on the risks and hardships illegal migrants endure. After paying between Rs 10-25 lakh to agents, the 'pigeons' fly to Moscow on a visit visa. The rest of the route is planned out by the international drug cartels there. Prospective migrants are taken in groups on foot or on mules across Russia, through Ukraine, the Czech republic and finally Austria. The journey involves walking for several days at a stretch with little to eat. Once in Austria, the emigrant has to find his way into Germany or UK.

The latest ploy employed is for illegal migrants to declare themselves gay and express a wish to get married. The modus operandi is for a 'gay' couple to claim they want to migrate since they are being harassed in India. Some six countries including Canada, UK and Australia have legalised gay marriages, so this route is fast becoming popular.

Till the UK authorities cracked down on fake colleges run from one-room establishments in Southall, thousands had found their way into England as students. Says Harjap Singh Bhangal of the London Immigration Services which works with the British High Commission to check illegal immigration: "Many of these colleges have charged students Rs 10-15 lakh for admission, but they don't have any teachers, not even furniture. Students have no choice but to continue as illegal immigrants."


Jalandhar police make an arrest, recover fake passports after the Katara story broke

Meanwhile, the list goes on. Two years ago, six rafters from the Punjab Armed Police representing the Indian Rafting Association at a tournament in the US wentAWOL. Last year, 19 kabaddi players who had gone to participate in tournaments at the invitation of the Ontario Sports Federation in Canada stayed on. Scores of sports clubs flourish in Punjab's Doaba region, most of them specialise in getting invites from friendly associations in Canada or the US. Along with genuine teams, some 'pigeons' too are taken for a hefty fee.

Stories of thousands ending up in jails or rendered penniless in their bid to migrate has not acted as deterrent. The Jalandhar passport office alone (serving the Doaba region) issues a whopping 1.75 lakh passports each year. As Anil Malhotra, a leading immigration lawyer, puts it: "The Emigration Act 1983 has outlived its utility. States have virtually no role in its implementation. If an unscrupulous agent commits a crime, neither the state government nor the local police can take any action to protect the emigrant's interests. The limited penal action taken under theIPC for cheating neither leads to a conviction nor deters offenders." He feels a new legislation giving more teeth to the police is called for. Till that happens, there is no stopping the Babubhai Kataras and others of his ilk.

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