42 Indian youths missing for 15 years after taking ‘dunky route’ to US: Report
Chandigarh: About 40 youths from Punjab, part of the 102 Indians who attempted to reach the United States through the ‘dunky route’ in 2010, have been missing for the past 15 years, according to a recent report.
Ravinder Singh, son of Daljit Singh of Taprian village in Fategarh Sahib district, left for the US on September 15, 2010. Since then, his family has had no contact with him, The New Indian Express reported on Saturday.
Daljit Singh shared that Ravinder, who worked as a driver, aspired to go abroad for better job opportunities. The family connected with travel agents based in Panchkula, finalising a deal for Rs 20 lakh, of which Rs 5 lakh was paid as advance. The agents initially assured the family that the group would be taken directly to Mexico before entering the US. However, the journey began from Delhi to Managua, where another agent received them. An additional Rs 5 lakh was then demanded and paid.
“After 10 days we came to know that he and others had reached Guatemala city. These agents asked for remaining Rs 10 lakh and we paid them Rs 7 lakh. We were then told that once our son reached the US, they would call us back. But he has not spoken to us till date,’’ Singh told TNIE.
He further revealed that despite filing a complaint against the agents, local police refused to register an FIR. Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) collected blood samples from the family, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has questioned them multiple times regarding the case.
Sukhpreet Grewal, the advocate of these families whose children have gone missing, said the case was disposed of by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2023 and the CBI had registered the case.
Grewal said that a total of 102 youths from India embarked on this journey in 2010 via the ‘dunky route’; 42 of them from Punjab never reached their destination, and no one knows when they last contacted their families.
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
