In yet another incident of being duped by a travel agent, six youths, who got trapped in a Russian prison, were able to return home. This development came just two days before a flight carrying over 270 passengers landed in Mumbai on Tuesday after being grounded in France over suspected human trafficking.
The six men, five from Punjab and one from Haryana, were brought back from Russia after they survived days in a forest, getting thrashed by border security forces and a Russian jail. All of them aspired to go to Europe.
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All of them had reportedly paid their travel agent Rs 13 lakh each, who assured to send them to Spain, however, their dreams came crashing down. They said the travel agent first took them to Oman and then to Moscow in Russia.
He told the six men that they would be entering Europe through the forests of Belarus. However, they were caught and thrashed by the border security forces. They were abandoned in the forest for several days.
According to a report by The Tribune, in a second attempt, the agent asked them to try and cross the Russia-Finland border, but they were caught again and this time they were imprisoned as their visa had expired.
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After a few days, the families of the men managed to contact Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal on December 17 and 20. Seechewal contacted the Indian Embassy in Moscow, which facilitated their return to India on December 24.
While narrating their ordeal, the men said their families had taken loans to send them abroad and now they are under debt after passing through the hellish experience, Times of India reported.