Chandigarh:

Punjab has cancelled the licenses of 40 travel agents amid a huge row over the deportation of Indians who migrated illegally to the US. Licenses of some IELTS centers have also been cancelled and such action will be taken in future as well, sources said. 

Sources said the Amritsar police have taken action on the basis of a complaint against travel agents operating illegally from the city and more action could be expected in the coming days.

The police are continuously registering cases against travel agents who send Indians illegally and raids are being conducted to catch them, sources said. 

The complainant in this case, Sarabjit Singh, said he had given a letter to the Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sahni.

Government sources earlier said people from Punjab comprise the biggest chunk of the Indians being deported by the US. Three flights arrived on February 5, February 15 and February 16 in which 333 Indians were sent. Of them, the maximum people – 126 or 37.8 per cent – were from Punjab, sources said. 

The clarification came days after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s objection to the flights landing in his state. Sources said because of the maximum number of Punjabis among the deportees, 21 flights have been landed in Amritsar since May 2020. 

Instances of illegal immigration from Punjab — where people eager for a better life are promised visas to travel abroad in exchange for large sums of money but are ultimately routed in on fake visas — have been reported widely, adding the term “Dunki route” to the lexicon. 

Reports said more than 3,200 police cases have been filed against travel agents in Punjab over the last three years.

There have been multiple arrests in such cases. Among them was Punjabi singer Fatehjit Singh, who ended up in the police net in September last year. The most popular destinations include the US, Canada, UK and Australia.