Punjab Police SIT makes first arrest in illegal immigration racket

Travel agent arrested following deportation of Indian immigrants from the US

The NRI Affairs Wing of Punjab Police made its first arrest in an illegal immigration network case on Saturday, following a complaint from a recently deported Indian immigrant from the United States. Anil Batra, a travel agent and one of the four accused in the case, was arrested in Patiala, officials confirmed.

SIT investigation and arrest details

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed on February 7 to investigate human trafficking and illegal migration networks, led the arrest operation. The SIT is headed by ADGP (NRI Affairs) Praveen Sinha and includes ADGP (Internal Security) Shive Kumar Verma, IGP (Provisioning) S Boopathi, and DIG (Border Range) Satinder Singh.

• Anil Batra, a resident of Kurukshetra, Haryana, was apprehended at his in-laws’ residence in Patiala.
• He was produced before a local court and remanded to three-day police custody.
• Batra was involved in facilitating the illegal immigration of Gurwinder Singh, a Patiala resident who was among 104 Indians deported from the US on February 5.
• He has been booked under Sections 406, 420, 370, and 120-B of the IPC and Section 24 of the Emigration Act.

Illegal immigration route and financial investigation

According to SIT findings, Batra arranged visas and travel tickets for victims to Suriname, from where they were smuggled through South and Central America before illegally entering the United States.

• The victims traveled through Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico with the help of traffickers.
• Batra’s bank account, holding Rs.6.35 lakh, has been frozen as part of the probe.

SIT’s mission and future investigations

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav emphasized that the SIT’s mandate is to identify and take strict legal action against individuals involved in illegal human trafficking.

• The SIT has registered 10 FIRs so far, with more arrests expected.
• Local SSPs and Commissioners have been directed to provide full support to the SIT.

New batch of deportees from the US

The arrest coincided with the arrival of 119 more deported Indian immigrants on a flight landing at Amritsar airport on Saturday. This marks the second batch of deportations under the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migration.

Breakdown of 119 deportees by state:

• 67 from Punjab
• 33 from Haryana
• 8 from Gujarat
• 3 from Uttar Pradesh
• 2 each from Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan
• 1 each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir

The SIT investigation is ongoing, with authorities tracking more fraudulent travel agents and human trafficking networks involved in illegal migration to the US.

For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.

The post Punjab Police SIT makes first arrest in illegal immigration racket appeared first on PGurus.