The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered two cases against five alleged human trafficking agents who cheated people on the pretext of arranging jobs for them in the United States and Europe. One of the complainants, who was arrested by the U.S. Army while attempting to enter the country illegally, was deported to India on February 16.
In the first case, the agency has named Balwinder Singh from Karnal in Haryana, his brother-in-law Sahib Singh, and friend Amrit Singh. The accused allegedly promised jobs in the U.S. and facilitated illegal entry through human traffickers.
According to government figures, between January 20 and July 22, 2025, the U.S. deported 1,703 Indian nationals, including 1,562 men and 141 women, to India. Of them, 620 were from Punjab, 604 from Haryana, 245 from Gujarat, 38 from Uttar Pradesh, 26 from Goa, 20 each from Maharashtra and Delhi, 19 from Telangana, 17 from Tamil Nadu, and 12 each from Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Ten each were from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, eight from Kerala, seven each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, six from West Bengal, five from Karnataka, and one each from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Six were listed as “unknown”.
The CBI came across one victim, Ravinder Singh, who was deported by U.S. authorities in February. In his complaint, he alleged that during 2024-25, Balwinder Singh and others induced him to pay â‚ą25 lakh for legal entry into the U.S. and a job in houseware. In January, the amount was paid in cash and through banking channels.
The accused and others allegedly made him stay at a hotel in Delhi and gave him an air ticket to Cairo, Egypt. He was then allegedly “transported, harboured, transferred” and finally received in Managua, Nicaragua. As alleged, he was physically and mentally tortured and exploited abroad. He was arrested by the U.S. Army while attempting to enter the country “illegally” and was deported to India.
Accused Manoj Panwar and his younger brother Anuj Panwar, from Bhiwani in Haryana, have been named in the second case. The “unscrupulous travel agents” allegedly offered better jobs in Europe to extract money from people. The CBI identified two such victims as Navdeep and Ashish.
The victims learnt about the agent, Manoj, through two others. He met them in October 2024 and offered to make arrangements for their travel and jobs in various countries. The accused finally made them agree to travel legally to Luxembourg for storekeeping jobs at a salary of €2,675, on payment of ₹14.5 lakh each. The agent allegedly took ₹1 lakh in cash per head in advance.
A few days later, Anuj allegedly informed them that Luxembourg work visas could not be arranged and that they would have to go to Germany. In February 2025, the victims were sent to Mumbai for onward travel to Denmark, where they had to halt for 10 days due to lack of proper travel documents. They were then told that they would be sent to Germany via Kazakhstan.
Subsequently, the victims visited Delhi on March 21 and were taken to a hotel in Mahipalpur, where they were given their passports and air tickets from Delhi to Almaty for a flight the next day. Upon reaching Almaty, a foreign associate allegedly took away their passports on the pretext of obtaining Schengen visas, but no visas or further travel documents were provided. Their Kazakhstan visa-on-arrival expired on April 6.
As allegedly instructed by Manoj, the victims were shifted to a new accommodation where they were kept and forced to do menial jobs such as cleaning toilets, mopping and sweeping apartments. At times, they did not receive proper food.
Then, as alleged, Manoj sent a photograph of a Schengen visa over WhatsApp and demanded ₹14.5 lakh from each victim, stating that their passports would be returned only after payment. “Left with no options, family members of both the victims had paid ₹4 lakh each in cash to accused Anuj Panwar. Even after receiving the payment, the accused neither returned their passports nor provided any travel documents for onward journey, and also stopped picking up their calls,” the First Information Report said.
During the intervening period, the victims allegedly suffered a financial loss of about â‚ą3.75 lakh each. They finally lodged a complaint regarding missing passports at a local police station in Almaty on June 18. They then approached the Indian Embassy and were issued emergency certificates and deportation papers, following which they returned to India on July 6.
Published – December 16, 2025 08:48 pm IST
