Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Ludhiana who recently returned from a jail in Mauritius, has alleged that travel agents are running a large-scale human trafficking racket under the guise of tourist travel. Speaking at Sultanpur Lodhi, where he arrived with his family to thank Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal, Jaswinder said that innocent Punjabis are being trapped and exploited abroad by unscrupulous travel agents. He explained that he had travelled to Mauritius in January last year, where a visa is issued upon arrival at the airport. According to him, travel agents exploit this facility to lure people overseas. Jaswinder Singh stated that travel agents specifically target tourists.
He further revealed that he traveled to Mauritius on a tourist visa in January 2025. Upon arrival, the company management confiscated his passport. The travel agent repeatedly assured him that his tourist visa would be converted into a work visa. As long as the company had work available, he was employed; however, once the work ended, he was dismissed. The company then refused to return his passport, leaving him undocumented and in an overstayed status.
During this period, local police detained him and he lost contact with his family for nearly 15 to 20 days. According to available information, the company retained his passport throughout his employment and kept extending his tourist visa for six months while making him work 14-hour shifts daily. He was also denied one month’s salary, amounting to approximately Rs 30,000. After learning about his difficult situation, Jaswinder Singh’s family contacted Seechewal on May 24, who immediately took up the matter, wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs, and continuously pursued the case.
Due to Seechewal’s prompt intervention and persistent efforts, the Indian Embassy acted swiftly and secured Jaswinder Singh’s release from detention. The embassy also facilitated the return of his passport and ensured his safe return to India within a week. After returning home, Jaswinder Singh said that without timely assistance, it would have been extremely difficult for him to return to India.
