Compelled to take 'dunki' route to US for better life prospects, three UP men sent back to India

Muzaffarnagar/Pilibhit: Three men from Uttar Pradesh were compelled to take the treacherous "dunki" route to illegally enter the US in search of a better life for themselves and their families back home.

On Wednesday, the trio arrived in Amritsar in a US military plane, allegedly in shackles, after being deported from the US -- their hopes of living the "American dream" shattered.

Derived from a Punjabi idiom, "dunki" roughly translates to "hop from place to place".

Becoming popular in common parlance following the release of Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki in 2023, it refers to illegal immigration that involves crossing borders through covert stops in multiple countries, mostly facilitated by agents.

Rakshit Baliyan (19) of Rasulpur Jatan village and Devindra Singh (38) of Marakpur village in Muzzffarnagar district and Gurpreet Singh (24) from Pilibhit district were among the 104 Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.

Rakshit Baliyan's father Sudhir Baliyan, a retired Army jawan, told PTI that his son had gone to the US seven months ago and was working in a private company.

Sudhir Baliyan, who owns 20 bighas of agriculture land, said his son would continue his education.

"My son has passed his Class 12 examination. He will continue his education since he is interested in pursuing a BTech degree," he said.

As soon as Rakshit Baliyan arrived in India, his father sent him to Meerut to resume his studies.

Kulbir Singh, father of Devindra Singh, the other deportee from UP's Muzaffarnagar, said his son had left for the US two months ago.

He was caught shortly after arriving in the US and remained in custody at a detention camp until his deportation.

Kulbir Singh -- a small farmer with 15 bighas of agriculture land -- paid Rs 40 lakh to agents to send his son abroad.

"He went to the US to earn for the family but now all our money is gone," he said.

Devindra Singh is now back in his village, reuniting with his wife Harshjit Kaur and their sons Anshdeep and Vanshdeep.

The local authorities have not commented on the circumstances of the deportations and the families are also keeping mum.

Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Banjaria village in Pilibhit, reached the US about 22 days ago from the UK, his mother Jaswinder Kaur told reporters.

He had had gone to the UK about two years ago.

He informed the family 22 days ago that he had illegally entered the US, she said.

However, the family lost all contact with him after that.

Gurpreet Singh is the youngest of three brothers, with one sibling Gurjeet Singh serving in the Indian Army.

On Thursday, the Delhi Police will hand Gurpreet Singh over to its Uttar Pradesh counterparts, village head Gurdev Singh told reporters.

However, Puranpur Kotwali police inspector (crime) Gajendra Singh said they had not received any official communication on the issue.