CBI registers two cases of illegal trafficking of minors to US, Kenya

The CBI has registered two separate cases of illegal trafficking of women and children to the United States of America and Kenya, officials said Friday.

They said the first case has been registered on a complaint from the US embassy which reported that an attempt was made by a woman Gagan Gupta, in August last year, to take four minor children to that country allegedly using assumed identities of four students of St Joseph's Convent in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district in Punjab.

The passports of the students were given to the children who were allegedly to be trafficked to the United States, the inquiry found.

The embassy said that the staff of United Airlines-83 flight stopped them from boarding the flight as the faces of four children did match with their photographs in the passport, they said.

However, their passports were not seized and they were allowed to leave the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the officials said.

The airline staff did not contact the local police but it provided photos of the minor subjects, of the passports and the airline tickets to the embassy officials, they said.

During inquiry by the embassy, it surfaced visas issued to the kids were part of a school group from St Joseph Convent for which a trip to the United States was organised by Click Education Services Pvt Limited.

The school was allegedly sending its students for a cultural trip to the US for which the passports of student and staff were collected by an agent promising them to help in the visa process.

The agent allegedly tried to send four of its clients on the assumed identity by providing them passports of the students to whom the visas were issued for the cultural trip.

The embassy officials managed to locate one of the children in Hoshiarpur who were attempting to travel on assumed identity.

During the inquiry his father admitted that an agent Balraj Khera of Kings Punjab Travel had allegedly demanded Rs 30.05 lakh from him if his son is successfully able to reach the US, the complaint alleged.

Based on the complaint received in February this year, the CBI started its preliminary enquiry which found that Gagan Gupta was allegedly attempting to traffic four children under assumed identities and passports of four students of St Joseph's Convent aged 13-15 years.

The passports of four school children studying in St Joseph's Convent in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (formerly Nawanshahr) district in Punjab were given to the children who were allegedly to be trafficked to the United States, the inquiry found.

Gupta allegedly misrepresented her self as the Principal of the school, he said.

The principal of the school told the CBI that an agent Chetan Sabharwal had approached his school for facilitating the cultural trip and kept passports of teachers, students in his possession during the visa process.

Following the enquiry the CBI has booked, agents Balraj Khera of Kings Punjab Travels in Jalandhar, Gagan Gupta, a resident of Pathankot in Gurdaspur district, Chetan Sabharwal of Click Education Services, Chandigarh, his employee Lovepreet Singh and Tilak Raj.

The second case has been registered on a complaint from the External Affairs Ministry that Indian embassy in Nairobi, Kenya has rescued three young girls who were allegedly trafficked to Mombassa on the pretext of giving employment as dancers but were coerced into prostitution,