Promised Australia jobs, 3 Punjab men held ‘captive’ in Iran; kin allege torture, seek help

According to a complaint lodged with the Model Town Police Station in Hoshiarpur, Amritpal was “kidnapped” in Iran earlier this month. Based on the complaint, the Model Town police station in Hoshiarpur has registered an FIR against district-based travel agents and brothers Dheeraj Atwal and Kamal Atwal, and their employee Saavita Soya, under Sections 143, 318(4), 61(2) BNS, and Section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professional Regulation Act.

Station House Officer, Inspector Gursahib Singh, said all three are absconding. “We have conducted raids at their residences and workplace,” he said.

All three were in touch with their families on video calls till May 17, 2025. Ashok Kumar, Jaspal’s brother, said that they paid Rs 19 lakh to the agents. He said that Jaspal was flown to Dubai on April 1 and was made to stay their for a month. When Amritpal and Husanpreet reached Dubai on April 25, all three were taken to Tehran on May 1.

On reaching Tehran, some people showed them their photos and said that they had come to receive them. They were taken in a taxi to a place where they were made to strip. They then made video calls to us and told us that they were kidnapped and were asked to transfer Rs 18 lakh each to bank accounts in Pakistan for their release by May 1,” said Ashok, adding that he saw their bruised bodies.

Husanpreet’s cousin Manpreet said, “We made multiple rounds of the police station since May 4 and the FIR was registered only on May 16. Husanpreet last contacted us on May 17 and he was in a very bad condition. Husanpreet’s father died a few years ago and he is the only earning member of the family. He used to work as a driver here and all relatives had pitched in with money to help him go abroad,” he said.

Elaborating on the ordeal, Amritpal’s mother Gurdeep added that her son’s journey began in April. “Between April 24 and 25 this year, payments were made in installments — Rs 1 lakh in cash, Rs 40,000 via Google Pay, another Rs 9 lakh in cash and then the rest. The agents gave us a printout of an Australian visa and said that the flight was scheduled from Delhi on April 26. However, when he reached Delhi, the agents began postponing the flight, saying there were ‘issues with transit’. Eventually, he was handed a ticket to Dubai and then to Iran and was told that the final flight will be to Australia on May 3,” she said, adding that when they approached the agent, he said that he will go to Iran himself and get them.

But it seems that it was just as excuse that the agents fed the distressed families. Ashok added that by May 3, the agents’ offices and homes were locked and phones switched off. “Then we started getting chilling video calls—a clear sign of abduction. One of the youths said that they were being beaten up daily,” he said.

Yudhvir Singh, Amritpal’s cousin who accompanied him to Delhi, said, “They told us the agent is Pakistani. He wants us to send the money to a Pakistani bank, or they will never let them go.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has been alerted. The Indian Embassy in Iran posted on X, “Families of three Indian citizens have informed the Embassy of India that their relatives are missing after having traveled to Iran. The Embassy has strongly taken up this matter with the Iranian authorities, and requested that the missing Indians should be urgently traced and their safety should be ensured. We are also keeping the family-members regularly updated of the efforts being made by the Embassy.