Promised Australia, 3 Punjabi men held 'captive' in Iran, say family members

The three were promised jobs in Australia on work visas by a Hoshiarpur-based travel agents, the families claimed.

Hoshiarpur/Sangrur: Lured by high-paying jobs in Australia, three Punjab men ended up being "kidnapped" in Iran after being duped by travel agents, their families alleged on Wednesday.

The three were promised jobs in Australia on work visas by Hoshiarpur-based travel agents, the families claimed.

According to a complaint lodged with the Model Town Police Station in Hoshiarpur, 23-year-old Amritpal Singh of Bhagowal village was "kidnapped" in Iran earlier this month, just days after he left for Australia via a route arranged by the agents.

Talking to reporters, Amritpal's mother, Gurdeep Kaur, said her son had been working at a factory here after studying up to class 12.

She alleged that her son was lured by local travel agents, Dheeraj Atwal and Kamal Atwal, both natives of Piplanwala, Hoshiarpur, who took Rs 18 lakh for the work visa.

She alleged that the agents collected her son's passport and other documents, assuring them that the visa would arrive within 10 days.

On April 22, the agents told the family that Amritpal's visa had been approved and asked them to arrange for the money, saying he would fly directly to Australia from Delhi on April 26.

Kaur said she shored up Rs 18 lakh with the help of relatives and paid it in multiple instalments in cash and electronic transfers.

On April 25, she accompanied her son to a Delhi hotel, provided by the agents, one of them, present there, said the flight had been cancelled and rescheduled for April 29.

On April 29, the agent said the flight was cancelled again, and Amritpal would now travel to Australia via Iran.

The agent handed him a ticket from Delhi to Iran, saying a hotel had been arranged for a brief stay.

On May 1, Kaur's nephew Yudhveer Singh accompanied Amritpal to Delhi airport. Amritpal, along with two other youths -- Husanpreet Singh of Dhuri (Sangrur) and Jaspal Singh of Langroya (SBS Nagar district) -- departed for Iran that day.

"At around 2.30 am on May 2, Amritpal called up Yudhveer to inform him that he had reached Iran safely. But, an hour later, he called again and said that he and two other youths had been held captive by some people.

"He said the kidnappers had a monetary dispute with the travel agents who sent them and demanded that we ask our agents to transfer the money. They said the three would be released only after the money was received," Kaur said.

Kaur said she also got video calls from the abductors during which they beat the three men.

She said when they approached the travel agents about the abduction, one of them said he would go to Iran himself to bring the youths back.

"But when we tried to contact him again, we found it switched off, and his house and office locked," she said.

According to her, the kidnappers initially demanded Rs 1 crore for the release of the youths, then raised it to Rs 1.5 crore.

When families said they did not have that kind of money, they brought the demand down to Rs 54 lakh.

"When we told them we were ready to pay, they sent a bank account number. We later found it was a Pakistani account," she said.

"My son had last contacted me about 12 days ago, and there has been no communication since then," Kaur said.

She said it was all planned by the travel agents, and the abduction was orchestrated.

Kaur, a homemaker who also does occasional stitching work, said her husband Joginder Singh, a former migrant worker in Dubai, is now farming.

Their younger son, Sehajpal Singh, 20, who had gone to Dubai three months ago, returned home after learning of his elder brother's abduction.

She urged the Centre to take immediate steps to ensure the safe return of her son and his companions and demanded strict action against the travel agents.

Dhuri-based Husanpreet's mother accused the travel agent of deceiving them and urged that her son be released.

SBS Nagar-based Jaspal Singh's wife, Kuldeep Kaur, said her husband was promised that he would be taken to Australia.

He was told that there would only be a one-hour stay in Iran, she said.

For the last nine days, she has been unable to contact her husband, she told reporters in Nawanshahr.

Sub-Inspector Gursahib Singh, posted at Hoshiarpur Model Town Police Station, said efforts were being made to nab the travel agents.

Police have lodged a case under sections 143 (trafficking of person), 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professionals (Regulation) Act.