India probes illegal immigration after tragedy near Canada border
MUMBAI: Indian police have detained six people in a
crackdown on illegal immigration after four Indians were found frozen to death
near the border between the United States and Canada last week, officials said
on Thursday (Jan 27).
Hundreds of Indians, mostly from the western states of
Punjab and Gujarat, attempt to cross the US-Canada border each year, braving
harsh weather conditions in search of a better life and job opportunities in
the West.
Police in Gujarat said they identified the four, belonging to a single family, after law enforcement agencies on the border provided photographs of passports and other belongings.
"We are now trying to nab the human traffickers who
managed to send this family and others abroad via illegal channels," said
police official AK Jhala in the state capital of Gandhinagar.
The six detained by police were running a travel and tourism
company in the state, he added.
US authorities have charged a US man with human trafficking
after the four - a man, woman, baby and teenager - were found dead in the
Canadian province of Manitoba, a few yards north of the frontier with
Minnesota.
They were among four families from the same village who had
travelled to the border this month.
Officials said they got separated from the group of 18
people and were probably caught in a blizzard, resulting in a tragedy described
as "mind-blowing" by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The situation came to light only when the group was
intercepted by authorities and one of them was found to be carrying a backpack
with baby supplies, although there was no infant among them.
"The nexus of human trafficking runs deep, often
involving local politicians too," said Jhala, adding that people even sell
their land and homes to fund efforts to get to the United States or Canada.
A foreign ministry official in the Indian capital of New
Delhi said authorities were coordinating with border officials in the United
States and Canada to investigate the illegal immigration case.
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