Punjabi fliers on 'donkey flight' were told to ‘identify as Khalistani and seek asylum’ if caught in US

In a major breakthrough, the Gujarat police have registered a case against 14 individuals on charges of human trafficking. The accused, including agents from Gujarat, Delhi, Mumbai, and Dubai, were attempting to illegally send over 60 people from Gujarat to the United States via the Mexico border, revealed a senior official from the Gujarat CID - Crime and Railways.

The agents, identified in the first information report (FIR), include Jogendra alias Jaggi Paaji and Joginder Manasram from Delhi, Raja Bhai and Raju Panchal from Mumbai, and Salim from Dubai. The other accused are Chandresh Patel, Kiran Patel, Bhargav Darji, Sandip Patel, Piyush Barot, Arpitsinh Zala, Biren Patel, Jayesh Patel, and Sam Paaji.

Charges have been filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 370 for human trafficking, section 201 for destroying evidence, and section 120-B for criminal conspiracy.

According to the Additional Director General of Police, CID (Crime and Railways), S P Rajkumar, the investigation uncovered that the agents had promised to assist passengers from Gujarat in entering the US illegally after reaching the Latin American country, Nicaragua, for amounts ranging from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 80 lakh.

The probe further revealed that these agents, in collaboration with main agents in the US, Mexico, Nicaragua, Dubai, and Delhi, had sent several people to Nicaragua in three separate trips in December alone before the grounded flight incident in France.

Passengers from Gujarat disclosed that the agents forced them to delete audio files and other trip-related content from their mobile phones. Each passenger had agreed to pay the agents the promised sum only upon reaching the US, Rajkumar informed reporters.

The investigation also shed light on the fact that the Nicaragua-bound aircraft, carrying 260 Indians, including 66 from Gujarat, was grounded in France over suspected human trafficking. The passengers were subsequently questioned by the CID upon their return to Mumbai on December 26.

The agents had assured the passengers that they would be taken to the US border in Mexico from Nicaragua and helped to cross illegally. It was also revealed that the agents had booked air tickets for the passengers.

As per the agents' plan, the passengers reached Dubai on valid tourist visas from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Delhi between December 10 and 20. They boarded the Nicaragua-bound aircraft on December 21, which made a technical stopover near Paris, where French police intervened.

Investigations indicate that all flight bookings were orchestrated by Delhi-based agents who had legal support ready in case of complications.

"There were nearly 200 people from Punjab on that flight, while 66 were from Gujarat. We learnt that these trips are mainly for Punjabis. If some seats remain vacant on the flight after accommodating them, the Delhi agents ask Gujarat-based agents to arrange people who are ready to pay to enter the US illegally through their set-up," an official told PTI.

"The agents instructed the passengers from Punjab to identify themselves as Khalistani and seek asylum in the US if the US police catch them at the border. The story will be different for other passengers. In the US, the government allows asylum seekers to work on humanitarian ground," the official explained.

No arrests have been made yet, but a lookout circular will soon be issued against all 14 agents involved in this human trafficking ring.