Seven months after a man from Ludhiana went missing in Belarus while on way to the Netherlands via the “dunki Route”, the Punjab Police has registered an FIR on his father’s complaint and booked a travel agent couple, who also happen to be the parents of jailed gangster Rishab Benipal.
While Vijay Kumar of Tibba area in Ludhiana had submitted the complaint on his son, Deepak Kumar, 26, going missing in Belarus on August 23 last year, the FIR was registered on March 27 with police saying that the delay was due to “a detailed inquiry”. The police has now booked Varinder Singh and his wife Sunita of Dharampura of Ludhiana.
According to the FIR, Kumar told the police that his son Deepak had to reach the Netherlands and the travel agent couple sent him via dunki route. He further said in his complaint that after Deepak reached Russia, he again requested the agents to bring him back as they did not want to proceed with the illegal route. The agents, he claimed, told him not to worry as saying they had “setting with Russian Army”.
However, according to Kumar, when his son reached Belarus, he went missing and his phone also came switched off. “I have failed to contact my son since July 23, 2024. I have no idea where he is. The travel agents have locked their house and are missing. I had filed the police complaint against them on August 23 last year, but the FIR has been registered after a delay of seven months,” said Kumar, while speaking to The Indian Express.
Kumar said that his son wanted to go Portugal so they had contacted Singh and his wife, who had demanded Rs 11.50 lakh to arrange Schengen visa via the Netherlands. “He was first sent to Bengaluru in May last year for visa-related paperwork. Then in June, the agents said that his visa had come and took Rs 2 lakh from us. My son left on June 13 and was taken to a hotel in Delhi where he was kept for several days on the pretext that an entire group had to go. He was then sent to Russia via Dubai on June 24 and that’s when we got to know that he was going via the dunki route. The agent then claimed that he will take a direct flight from Russia for the Netherlands but it never happened. The agent’s men also snatched the passport and US dollars 1500 from my son,” claimed Kumar in his complaint.
He said that when Deepak got to know that he was being sent via the dunki route, he “refused to proceed” but the agent claimed that he had connections in the Russian Army and that “you will reach the Netherlands safely in five hours”.
“On June 27, my son went to Belarus only on the agent’s request. He stayed there for some days and was in touch on the phone. I last spoke to him on July 23, 2024 and since then his phone has been switched off. We have no idea where he is,” said the father.
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Kumar further said that after his son went missing in Belarus, they questioned the agent, who said Deepak was caught while crossing the borders illegally and was being deported. “He claimed that my son will reach Delhi by August 15, 2024 but it never happened,” said Kumar.
Police has registered FIR against the couple under the sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (conspiracy) of IPC at division number 3 police station. The FIR states that the case has been registered after an inquiry conducted by CIA-2 incharge. The FIR adds that “according to the neighbours, no one dares to speak up against Singh as he is the father of gangster Benipal.”
Inspector Vijay Kumar, SHO division number 3 police station, said: “The FIR has been registered after an inquiry by a senior official which took time. The accused couple are the parents of gangster Rishab Benipal who is in jail. We are also verifying the background of Deepak and his family. The agent couple is absconding and their home is locked. The complainant has claimed that had no idea that the agent was linked to gangster Benipal.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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