A Haryana man, who was among the 104 illegal Indian immigrants deported by the US, was arrested within five minutes after landing on US soil on January 25. 

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According to The Indian Express, he told the police that travel agents demanded Rs 50 lakh to send him to the US, but the patrolling police there arrested him.

The deported man, Akshay, a resident of Kharar village in Hisar, filed an FIR against three travel agents: Deepak Malik, Rajat Mor and Munish Sharma of the Jind region.

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Illegal route to US

Akshay described to police how the travel agents sent him to the US in June 2024 on a work visa, which they claimed was legal.

“The agents told me that they would charge Rs 35 lakh to send me to the USA legally by air. They said that first I would be sent to Dubai and then to America through a flight directly on a work visa. They sent me to Dubai on July 18, 2024, and kept me there for one month,” he told police.

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“On August 23, 2024, they sought Rs 30 lakh to send me to America from Dubai after five days. Next day, my family gave them Rs 30 lakh,” he said. However, Akshay was kept in Suriname, a country in South America, for the next 20 days.

Also read | US military aircraft carrying over 100 illegal Indian immigrants lands at Amritsar airport

“When my family questioned the travel agents for keeping me in Suriname, they replied that I would be sent to America in the next one or two days,” he said in his police complaint.

“Then, my illegal travel on a bus was arranged for America, but the agents kept telling my family that I was being taken to the US via a flight. They also sought Rs 20 lakh more from my family, which they arranged from an arhatiya (commission agent at a market) on November 28, 2024, and gave the money to them,” he detailed.

The man told police that the mafia that was taking him to the US, handed him over to another mafia. “They got me to enter America from Mexico on January 25 this year, but the American patrolling police caught me within five minutes. They took me to a detention centre from where I was deported on February 3 this year,” he said.

Also read | Who are the deported migrants? US military plane brings back 104 Indian nationals

Police complaint

The complaint prompted the police to arrest the travel agents and get back the Rs 50 lakh, which Akshay paid to them. An FIR has been lodged at a police station in Hisar for cheating, criminal breach of trust, and under the provisions of the Emigration Act, reported The Indian Express.

According to a police spokesperson, the investigation is underway, said the report. Earlier, the Haryana Police had registered two similar FIRs against three travel agents for alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust on the complaints of two deportees and their families.

A senior police officer said that action would be taken in all cases where the deported youths file a complaint.

(With inputs from agencies)