Lucknow Man's Scheme To Travel To US Via 'Donkey Route' Gets Busted

The 24-year-old Guru Sewak Singh from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, tried to board a flight to Canada alongside his wife with forged documents and appearances on the evening of June 18. He had dyed his hair and beard white in addition to wearing glasses to be perceived as older than he actually was. He was attempting to travel to Canada and then to take the 'donkey route' to the States, which is a route made for illegal immigration of citizens into the US.

The scheme

According to the passport that Guru Sewak presented at the immigration desk in Delhi Airport's Terminal 3, his name was Rashwinder Singh Sahota, born on February 2, 1957, in Jalandhar, Punjab. The passport thus stated his age as 67. According to NDTV, he was planning to take Air Canada's flight number AC 043 bound for Canada but was caught by airport authorities before he could do so.

The incongruencies between his conduct, appearance, and alleged age raised suspicions about the authenticity of the identity he claimed to be his. The immigration officer's observations led to further investigation which revealed another passport on Guru Sewak's phone. This passport bore his real name and stated his birth date as June 10, 2000. Upon further questioning by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Delhi Airport, and being presented with this evidence, Guru Sewak confessed to the forgery. 

He also revealed the reason behind this felony and the scheme he was planning to carry out. He divulged that he and his wife had asked a travel agent from Lucknow, Jaggi, to help them reach the United States. Jaggi had then convinced the couple to follow his instructions of altering their appearance to travel to Canada, and then take the illegal 'donkey route' to enter the United States, in exchange for 60 lakh rupees. He even provided them with fabricated passports, visas, and other necessary documents.  

Measures taken

The couple were handed over to the Delhi Police and arrested on counts of forgery and attempts to travel abroad illegally. An FIR was also filed against them. This incident has also led to Jaggi's scheme and probable crime network being busted. They would be investigating his organization and discovering whether he has sent others abroad illegally using similar methods.