Punjab News and Information - General Information, Property, Corporate News, Punjab Information Directory, Punjab News

That Punjab has been the nerve centre of a flourishing racket in illegal immigration and human trafficking is well known. But it is now creating a record of sorts for also being the state with the largest number of residents deported home.

Records accessed by The Indian Express show that over 9,000 people have been deported to Punjab in the last five years — they have been sent back with one-way travel documents called “emergency certificates” by the country where they were detained and declared illegals.

In 2006, Punjab recorded the maximum number of deportees. As many as 2,225 people were made to board flights home. Officials in Punjab’s central passport office say that just last week, they received a pile of 200 fresh “emergency certificates” from immigration authorities at Jalandhar airport.

A scrutiny of “emergency certificates” issued in recent years show that people have been deported from every possible corner of the world. Deportations have been made, to name a few capitals and cities, from Kyiv, Muscat, Bahrain, Ankara, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, The Hague, London, Kuala Lumpur.

From photographs, the majority deportees appear to be in their 20s and 30s. But the latest batch also includes children like Surinder Pal (12) and Eeshu Pal (7), siblings who were put on a flight home to Punjab by British authorities recently.

Jalandhar’s passport officer Amarjeet Singh says he has a tough time sifting passport applications, trying to separate fresh applicants from those who deported or those who had unsuccessfully sought asylum abroad.

“What we find in Punjab is that in almost 100% cases, a deportee immediately approaches us for a fresh passport,” he says. “These people have learnt about the grey areas for illegal immigration. Plus they have seen the glitter of life abroad. They apply for a passport almost as soon as they get back.”

While there is no bar on a deportee getting a fresh passport, it’s not so easy for those who had applied for political asylum and were told no. In such cases, the passport office routes the request to the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi which, in turn, asks the Intelligence Bureau to examine the antecedents of the applicant.

“In a majority of such cases,” says Amarjeet Singh, “the request for fresh passport is turned down since the Government feels the deportee has shamed the country by seeking asylum.”