NIA charges two in human trafficking via 'Dunki' route

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday said it has chargesheeted two accused in the case related to illegal human trafficking from India to the US via the 'dunki' route.

The duo, Sunny, resident of Dharamshala of Kangra (HP) and Shubham Sandhal @ Deep Hundi of Peeragardhi, New Delhi, have been charged with illegal human trafficking and cheating in the case. The two were arrested this July, around three months after the arrest of the main accused, Gagandeep Singh@ Goldy, from Tilak Nagar area of New Delhi.

NIA, which took over the case from the Punjab Police this March, found during the investigation that Sunny was a 'donkar' involved in human trafficking via the 'dunki' route. While he was based in Mexico from 2021 to 2023, he connived with Goldy and others to facilitate illegal border crossings and unlawfully detaining the victims. He received payments through hawala too. Even after returning to India in 2023, he continued coordinating logistics, managing hawala transactions, and directly sending victims via the dunki route.