A 29-year-old man from Bhattnura Lubana village in Punjab’s Jalandhar district, identified as Arvinder Singh, has gone missing since October 1 when he attempted to cross the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom on a boat. The incident occurred when a group of nearly 80 people tried to enter the UK illegally via the so-called dunki route. The boat reportedly capsized mid-journey, leading to panic and chaos. Others on board were rescued. According to his family, Arvinder moved to Portugal on a work permit visa on May 18. He completed his biometric process on September 5 and was initially planning to settle there legally. However, after coming in contact with some other people in Portugal, he was influenced to take the illegal route to the UK, commonly known as the “dunki route”. His younger brother, Ashwinder Singh, revealed that the family was unaware of his plan to travel by boat. “He last spoke to us on September 29 but never mentioned anything about the boat journey. We found out only later that he was among those on the boat that capsized in the English Channel,” he said, adding that there were five men from Punjab on the same boat and that the four others were fine. Arvinder’s family members came to know about the incident on October 2 when a man from Chohana village in Kapurthala who was also on the same boat contacted them. He informed them that everyone on board was rescued except Arvinder. The Kapurthala man also confirmed that five Punjabis were on the boat. Initially, Arvinder and the group had tried to cross borders through a truck, but the driver reportedly refused. They then decided to attempt the risky crossing via a small boat from France to the UK, sources said. The incident has once again drawn attention to the dangerous and illegal “dunki route”, used by many aspiring migrants in Punjab in hopes of reaching Western countries. Despite multiple past incidents of boat capsize and lost lives, such perilous journeys continue, as the trend of risking lives through such means shows little sign of slowing down. Adampur MLA Sukhwinder Singh Kotli has assured the family that he will raise the matter with both the state and central governments to seek assistance in locating Arvinder and getting further information through diplomatic channels.
