The “abroad dream” of many Indians is turning into a nightmare. While many Indians are adopting illegal routes to build a dream life in abroad, their desperation is being exploited by criminals. A case of the kidnapping of four Gujaratis who were going to Australia from Gujarat via Delhi has come to the fore.
The four Indians were taken hostage in Iran’s capital Tehran while they were taking illegal route to Australia. The kidnappers sent a video of the hostages to the agent who sent them to Australia and their families, demanding a ransom of crores of rupees. As the matter came to light, BJP MLA from Mansa Jayanti Patel wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking help. It has now been reported that all four Gujaratis have been released and have reached India.
On 19th October, Priya Chauhan, Ajay Chaudhary, Anil Chaudhary and Nikhil Chaudhary of Bapupura village in Mansa left for Australia. They were taken from Delhi to Thailand, from there to Dubai and from there to Iran’s capital Tehran via Emirates Airlines. After reaching Iran, they were put in a taxi and taken to an unknown location.
From thereon, they were taken hostage and brutally tortured. Two videos of the kidnapped Indian nationals surfaced online. In a video, it was revealed that two youths were being stripped naked and beaten. In addition to these two videos, the kidnappers also shared a photo of a couple, in which their hands and mouths were tied. Based on this video and photo, a ransom of ₹2 crore was demanded from the families of the victims.
It was only after the BJP MLA and the Union Home Ministry swung into action that the kidnapped Indian nationals could be rescued and brought back to India.
Dunki route, kidnappings for ransom: The saga of desperation and deception
This, however, is not a first case of Indian nationals getting kidnapped while attempting to illegally reach a foreign country. In July 2023, a similar case was reported wherein a Gujarati couple, Dr Pankaj and Nisha Patel, who were taking a “Donkey route” to the United States of America were kidnapped in Iran by a person named Wasim. The couple was tortured and the kidnappers demanded a Rs 10 lakh ransom from their agent.
In September 2024, a 26-year-old man named Himanshu from Kerala was kidnapped in a similar fashion in Iran. It was only after his family paid Rs 20 lakh ransom that the youth was released. Himanshu came in contact with an agent named Aman Rathi from Haryana’s Karnal. Rathi lured Himanshu with a promise to obtaining him a work visa in Australia.
Himanshu was then taken to Noida and given a 15-day training course. Following this, he was sent to Jakarta in Indonesia. Three weeks later, he returned to Delhi only to be sent to Iran. Himanshu was kidnapped after reaching Chabahar. The Indian national was assaulted and tortured by Pakistani human traffickers, who demanded Rs 1 crore. After negotiations, Rs 20 lakh was agreed upon and was paid by Himanshu’s family to secure his release.
In June this year, three Indians identified as Husanpreet Singh from Sangrur, Jaspal Singh from SBS Nagar, and Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur disappeared shortly after reaching Tehran. agent from Hoshiarpur had promised to route them to Australia for employment opportunities via Dubai and Iran, assuring temporary shelter in Tehran. However, the family members said that the men were kidnapped on arrival, with abductors demanding Rs 1 crore ransom and sharing a disturbing video showing the captives tied with yellow ropes and bleeding. Last contact with the missing Indians was made on 11th May. The Indian trio could be rescued after Indian government intervened and Iranian police swung into action.
In a recent case, a Punjabi family were kidnapped by a cross-border gang masquerading as immigration agents. On 4th October 2025, Dharminder Singh, his wife Sandeep Kaur, and their 12-year-old son returned home after giving Rs 80 lakh ransom including jewellery to secure their release.
The family from Punjab’s Rahon came in contact with an agent who told them that they could settle in Canada via Iran if not directly from India.
“The agent said we did not need to worry and pay them after reaching Canada, and that he would take care of expenses until then,” said Dharminder (43), a farmer who takes land on contract. “The total cost is Rs 26 lakh for the entire family, but payment only after reaching Canada,” Dharminder Singh quoted the agent as saying.
On 25th September, the Singh family flew from Chandigarh to Kolkata to Dubai and then to Tehran. They waited at the Imam Khomenei International Airport for the taxi driver sent by their agent. He arrived and drove the Indian nationals to a remote location. Later, they took the passports and mobile phones of the Indian family. The victim family found out that they were kidnapped by a gang connected to the underworld operating out of Pakistan. The Pakistani gang demanded a ransom of Rs1.5 crore.
The Singh family had to arrange Rs 80 lakh, give jewellery and sell land to secure their release from the captivity of the Pakistani gang.
It is essential to note that there has been a surge in cases wherein fraudulent agents lure desperate people with overseas employment, lucrative careers, and better lives in Australia, Canada and US promises. Besides being kidnapped by human traffickers, other ransom-seeking gangs, many desperate Indians ready to adopt illegal means to reach their ‘dream destination’, are being targeted by fraudulent agents within the country.
Recently, Punjab Police busted an illegal immigration racket and rescued five youths from Libya. The modus operandi in this case was no different: Lure desperate people with promises of better life and opportunities abroad, convince them to take illegal route, kidnap and torture them on the pretext of sending them to their desired country and then demand ransom.
Legitimate dreams but illegitimate routes are landing desperate Indians into the quagmire of deception, betrayal, torture, financial loss and most importantly, the risk of losing their lives. The cases discussed above are just the tip of the iceberg, many such incidents also go unreported.
At the heart of this menace is the “Dunki route”. Dunki is a term in Punjabi which means to jump from one place to another. Over time, it has come to describe the illegal route taken by people who want to enter another country without proper documents.
Many agents lure Indians to send them abroad through the Dunki route. Those who choose the path of Dunki, their passport and visa are first made. The agents who work the often illegal routes take money and get a visa for a European nation or a country in Latin America.
On most occasions it is a tourist visa. With this, the people of Dunki route are evacuated from India. They are made to travel in Nepal, Dubai and any other country for a few days and a complete story of their journey. Many want to reach America or Canada or Australia to seek asylum. Besides, the agents who work the often-illegal routes take money and get a visa for a European nation or a country in Latin America. The cost often ranges from Rs 25-50 lakh per person along with the risk of being caught and arrested by law enforcement agencies, kidnapped and forced into criminal activities or modern-day slavery and of being killed.
Similar criminal syndicates operate in Myanmar and other countries. Thousands of Indians are duped of fake job advertisements and promises of call centre and data entry type jobs in Southeast Asia, paying Rs 1-3 lakh upfront. There have been many cases wherein Indians lured into this trap had their passports seized, and were confined to guarded “scam farms”. Not only Indians but people of other nationalities have also been forced into working at these scam farms to run online frauds like investment scams or dubious crypto schemes.
Refusal to comply results in torture, starvation or organ trafficking threats. The victims are given daily quotas or targets and failing to achieve which means they have to endure beatings and other forms of physical and mental torment. In the recent past, India rescued hundreds of its nationals from Cambodia and Thailand.
As OpIndia reported back in December 2023, in addition to being a centre for the trafficking of crystal methamphetamine, the northern Shan State in Myanmar is also home to numerous other illicit operations in outposts along the Chinese border.
Last July, eight Indian nationals, who were engaged in work at a scam centre in Hpa Lu of Myawaddy, were saved and handed over to the relevant Myanmar police and immigration authorities.
It was reported that several kidnapped Indian nationals were being forced by an armed group to commit online fraud. Their families complained to the Ministry of External Affairs, seeking intervention for their release.
A group operating in Myawaddy, pressured over 300 Indians, including at least 60 from Tamil Nadu, into participating in cybercrime activities. These victims were subjected to threats, torture and compelled them to work more than 15 hours daily. They further stated that when they refused to take part in unlawful activities, they faced physical violence and electric shocks.
There is a vicious cycle wherein the utopian dream of living abroad and an incurable desperation to realise this dream makes many Indians easy prey to predators, who turn their hopes into horror. The vulnerabilities and willingness to traverse any lengths to reach US, Canada, Australia or any European country are drawing Indian nationals into the trap of kidnapping-for-ransom gangs, job and online scams, and modern bondage.
People should do extensive research on agents, ask for recommendations, and refrain from paying any money until they have clear, validated contracts. Additionally, raising awareness about these scams is crucial, and anyone who suspects they or someone they know might be a victim should report it to authorities immediately. In order to put an end to this menace, the government must also step up crackdowns, launch awareness programs, and push allied nations to increase cooperation. Indian people also need to stop chasing mirages and adopting illegal means for the same.