Punjab youth escapes traffickers in Colombia: Donkey route survivor speaks out; family seeks MEA help
They have provided videos of the torture meted out by the traffickers upon three other men from Punjab and Haryana. Seechewal's office has forwarded these videos to Kapurthala police, as the family submitted a complaint for action against four local agents.
Balwinder had left home for the US a year ago. According to his mother Shinder Kaur and sister, residents of a Kapurthala village, the torture was filmed to extort money from the three men's families.
"They also ordered Balwinder to be shot to death, but he escaped. After travelling a long distance, he reached a city and contacted us after five months," they said.
Seechewal, who is in Canada at present, has taken up the issue with the ministry of external affairs and contacted the Indian embassy in Colombia, urging them to take swift action to ensure Balwinder's safe return.
Shinder said Balwinder was her only son. She has two daughters, while her husband is suffering from a chronic illness.
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She said the agents assured them that Balwinder would reach the US safely. In a bid to fund Balwinder's journey, the family sold their three acres of land and even their house, giving Rs 28 lakh to the agents. Four persons named in an application to the Kapurthala SSP hail from the village of Amritpur, Kapurthala.
Balwinder left home in July 2024 with hopes of reaching the US, but was instead taken through multiple countries and eventually left stranded in Colombia, where he was handed over to the 'donkers' (human traffickers).
"There, he met four other young men from Punjab and Haryana who were also being held captive. The gang seized their passports and phones, held them in jungle camps, and continuously demanded money from their families.
When payments were not made, the captives were subjected to horrific torture," Shinder and her daughter said. They said as was visible in the videos of the torture, the traffickers used plastic bags to suffocate victims, applied hot metal rods to their skin, poured melted plastic on their bodies, and inflicted cuts on their bodies using blades. From an adjacent room, Balwinder could hear the screams of the tortured victims.
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