‘Dunki’ route: 2 youths from Punjab, Haryana killed by traffickers in Guatemala
The victims’ families said they learned of their deaths a few days ago when one of the “donkers”, a term used for human traffickers, sent them death certificates and photos of the youths, claiming both had been killed.
Two youths from Punjab and Haryana, who set out for the United States in October last year through the treacherous “dunki” route in search of a job, have been killed after allegedly being held captive by human traffickers in Guatemala, according to family members of the victims.
Sahib Singh, 21, from Hoshiarpur’s Raghowal village and Yuvraj Singh, 18, from Mohna village in Kaithal had left for the US on October 13, 2024.
The victims’ families said they learned of their deaths a few days ago when one of the “donkers”, a term used for human traffickers, sent them death certificates and photos of the youths, claiming both had been killed.
It is not yet clear when exactly the youths were killed but the families suspect that their sons might have been killed shortly after he reached Guatemala when they started receiving videos and messages from the accused in which both Sahib and Yuvraj were seen pleading with them to send more money if they wanted them alive.
The family learnt about Sahib’s death when relatives of Yuvraj, who travelled with Sahib, used their contacts to know about their ward’s whereabouts. They were told that both boys had been kidnapped by human smugglers in December and held captive in Guatemala.
Sahib’s father Surjit Singh said that two days ago, they received a hospital certificate from Mexico, dated March 4, 2025, with Sahib’s photo declaring him dead.
A small farmer, Surjit, said his family had paid about ₹50 lakh to a Kaithal-based travel agent to arrange for Sahib’s trip to the US.
“We took loans and sold a part of our land to arrange money. The agent assured us that Sahib will be sent to the US through a legal route. We did not see any documents other than a travel ticket and believed the agent. Later, we came to know that Sahib was made to go via the dunki route,” he said.
“When we started getting extortion calls and recorded messages in which Sahib pleaded with us to pay money to the kidnappers to save his life, we contacted the agent in Haryana. He said he will deal with the kidnappers, but later he went missing,” he added.
Surjit said he had lodged a complaint with the Dasuya police.
Yuvraj’s maternal uncle Gurpej Singh said the 18-year-old was a Class 12 passout. “He was eager to support his family and hoped to find a job once he reached the US. Three Haryana-based travel agents had taken large sums of money from the family, promising a safe journey through other contacts in their network. However, after the initial payment was made, the family lost contact with Yuvraj. A few months later, they received videos showing him and another youth from Punjab being held hostage in Guatemala,” Gurpej said. Following this, the “donkers” raised ransom demands.
Yuvraj’s family believes that the money they routed through the Haryana-based agents to be paid to the other “donkers” did not reach its intended recipients. Recently, one of the “donkers” contacted the family, claiming that Yuvraj had been killed, and demanded ₹3 lakh to provide proof of his claim. Once the money was sent, the trafficker sent a death certificate and photos, Gurpej said.
“The family paid between ₹40 to ₹50 lakh to the travel agents and the donkers,” he added.
