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The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) is running the campaign
through Punjabi channels and vernacular newspapers.
They have asked young Punjabi men and women to guard against false
travel and immigration agents and also NRIs wanting to dupe them by offering
foreign dreams.
''Supne dekhne chhado, haqiqat val dhiyaan deyo'' is the punch line of
the ad campaign launched by the ministry last month to make people aware
about immigration frauds.
These frauds include illegal immigration, the absence of a work
permit, not having employment visas, marriage frauds and 'holiday
marriages'.
The last of these are sham marriages entered into by NRIs with young
women from Punjab with the promise of taking them abroad later.
Holiday marriages are also entered into by NRIs coming to Punjab on a
holiday and getting married to local girls without telling them of their
earlier marital status.
This is said to be the first such sustained ad campaign against
immigration frauds.
''It is a well-oiled immigration industry in Punjab where people are
losing billions of rupees annually by falling into the trap of fraud travel
agents. These agents take advantage of loopholes in the law and no strict
penal action on them,'' said former Central Minister Balwant Singh
Ramoowalia.
His Lok Bhalai Party (LBP) has been running a campaign against
unscrupulous travel agents and for helping duped youth in the state in the
last one decade.
The fact file
Facts on Punjab's illegal immigration industry compiled by the LBP
speak for themselves.
a.. Over 500 unscrupulous travel agents have cheated youth of over
Rs 20 billion in the last one decade. Complaints worth Rs 2.5 billion,
involving nearly 50,000 duped families, are already pending with the LBP.
b.. There are over 15,000 Punjab youth languishing in the prisons of
various countries after being duped and dumped by travel agents. Only a few
hundred have returned home in the last couple of years to tell their tale of
woe.
c.. Nearly 1,500 youth are languishing in inhuman conditions in the
Kiev prison in Ukraine alone.
d.. Even VIPs, from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Babubhai Katara
to singers Daler Mehndi and Dolly Malkit, have been accused of illegal human
trafficking of youth from Punjab.
e.. Over 1,500 youth have already been killed or are missing after
being sent abroad, especially to Iraq and some Middle East countries.
f.. Nearly 15,000 abandoned brides are waiting in their homes across
Punjab for their NRI husbands to take them abroad. In some cases, the wait
has been over 10 years.
Frauds on run
The Punjab government recently posted an Additional Director General
of Police (ADGP) rank officer to probe immigration and NRI marriage fraud
cases. Not much outcome has come from it even as travel agents continue to
dupe youth.
''We will not allow travel agents and others to have a free run. We
are bringing a law in the state assembly shortly to bring these agents under
the ambit of stricter laws,'' Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had said
recently.
But this talk is of little solace to many.
The family of Baljinder Kaur, who is in her mid 20s and hails from
Badni Kalan village Moga district, is regretting not only marrying her to a
NRI from Italy but also paying him a dowry of Rs 1.5 million. The case is
being probed by the Punjab Police.
A couple of years ago, Punjab Police mooted a rule to register rape
cases against NRI grooms indulging in sham and holiday marriages. But no
such case has been registered so far despite the rising number of frauds
being committed on young women.
''There are several black sheep among travel and immigration agents.
Their activities bring a bad name to the whole industry. They are looting
millions of rupees from unsuspecting youth,'' pointed out Jalandhar-based
immigration agent Onkar Singh
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