Families of US deportees recount horror of 'dunki' routes

Kurukshetra/Ahmedabad/Hoshiarpur: In a harrowing tale of broken dreams and exploitation, 104 Indian immigrants were deported from the US on a military plane, arriving back in Amritsar after enduring perilous journeys and immense financial losses.

Many said they travelled the dangerous "dunki" route, traversing South American jungles and rivers, facing extortion and violence at the hands of human traffickers.

"Dunki" refers to illegal immigration that involves crossing borders through covert stops in multiple countries, facilitated mainly by agents.

Recounting the horror faced by 27-year-old Robin Handa, who was among the deportees, his father Manjit Singh said his son travelled across Guyana, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala, crossed a sea and passed through jungles, staying hungry for days, to reach the Mexico-US border.

Handa, who studied till class 12, left his native Ismailabad village in Haryana's Kurukshetra district on July 18 last year, and by the time he reached the US border, he had paid Rs 45 lakh to different agents while his mobile phone was also snatched, his father claimed.

He was handed over to the "immigration mafia" in Mexico and they tortured him for money. Here he gave them Rs 20 lakh, Singh said.

Ketul Patel and his family returned to their native Manund village in Patan district of north Gujarat, after their failed attempt to settle in the US. Though police did not allow the media to speak to the Patels, a close friend, Dixit Patel, said Ketul was employed in Surat's diamond industry. "Due to the recession in the diamond industry, Ketul and family had gone to the US. They had sold their house in Surat and land in native village to go abroad," he said.

Khushbu Patel, one of the 33 deportees from Gujarat, was still in shock after a 36-hour-long flight in the US Army plane with her hands cuffed and legs chained. Her brother said has she returned to her home in Luna village in Vadodara district. "She was deported for not having some documents. We don't know what route she had taken to reach the US. She is not in a position to speak now after her 36-hour-journey," he said.

The Gujarati deportees arrived in Ahmedabad from Amritsar on Thursday. The Gujarat police provided vehicles and escorted them safely to their respective towns with heavy security.

Those deported include eight minors aged between four and 17 years. The group also included several from the Patel community. Patels are one of the largest Indian communities in the US.

Among the deportees hailing from Punjab, Sukhpal Singh from Darapur village in Hoshiarpur had decided to move to the US after working as a chef in Italy for a year.

Sukhpal said that in Italy, he and two of his friends met a travel agent who promised them safe passage to the US for Rs 30 lakh each.

He used his savings and borrowed money from his friends to pay the travel agent. The agent assured him of a flight to the US.

"Instead of being taken to the US, the group I was travelling with was taken to Nicaragua. Upon arrival, everyone's passports were confiscated by the agent's men, and then an arduous journey through Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico began," Sukhpal said.

"It included a 12-hour journey in a small boat across the sea from Mexico to the US border in California. Tragically, one of my fellow travellers drowned during this dangerous journey," he said.

Sukhpal said, "Soon after reaching the US border, I and others were apprehended by US authorities and taken to a detention camp where we were held for 12 days."

He said they were treated badly in the camp, with no access to legal counsel or immigration officials. "Only snacks and beef were available. I survived on snacks as I do not consume beef," he said.

The detainees were handcuffed and their feet shackled before they were put on the flight to India. Sukhpal said those on the flight were not allowed to move from their seats and even washroom access was highly restricted.

"To avoid using the washroom, I barely ate or drank anything on the flight," he said, adding, "The shackles were removed after the flight landed in Amritsar and I was finally provided a meal."
(With PTI inputs)