3 Punjab men go missing in Iran, families allege kidnapping by human traffickers

Punjab Police have booked two Hoshiarpur-based travel agents, brothers Dheeraj Atwal and Kamal Atwal of Piplanwala, and their employee, Saavita Soya, under various sections of the law, including 143, 318(4), 61(2) BNS, and Section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professional Regulation Act.

The families said the three left for Australia via Iran but have been untraceable since mid-May. Their last known contact was through a series of video calls from May 11 to 17, during which they appeared bloodied and distressed, pleading for help.

Ashok Kumar, the elder brother of Jaspal Singh, told The Indian Express that the families had collectively paid over ₹19 lakh to the agents. “Jaspal was first taken to Dubai on April 1 and kept there for a month. Amritpal and Husanpreet also joined him in Dubai on April 25 after paying the full amount. They were then flown to Tehran in early May on separate flights,” he said.

Once in Tehran, unknown individuals approached them, claiming to have been sent by the Indian agent and showed them photos as ‘proof.’ They were taken away in a taxi, only to later reveal that they had been kidnapped. The families were ordered to pay ₹18 lakh each in ransom to bank accounts in Pakistan.

“My brother and the others were stripped and showed deep wounds on their bodies in the videos. They were terrified,” Ashok said, adding that Jaspal is married and has two young sons.

Manpreet Singh, cousin of Husanpreet, described the family’s desperate efforts. “His father died years ago, his mother is elderly, and he was the sole breadwinner. We all pitched in to send him to Australia, but now he’s trapped in Iran,” he said.

The families said they repeatedly contacted the Hoshiarpur-based agents, who assured them of the youths’ safety but then switched off their phones and shuttered their offices by May 3. Since then, the only communication has been terrifying video calls from the captors, demanding the ransom.

Gurdeep Kaur, mother of Amritpal Singh, recounted how payments were made in stages, including ₹1 lakh in cash and ₹40,000 via Google Pay, totaling ₹18 lakh. “We own less than an acre of land. I work as a tailor, and my husband, who had returned from Dubai, is unemployed,” she said.

The families have turned to local politicians and the police for help. An FIR was finally registered on May 16 at the Model Town police station in Hoshiarpur. The Indian Mission in Tehran has also been alerted and is in touch with the families to investigate and locate the missing men.

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— India in Iran (@India_in_Iran) May 28, 2025

“We have no money left. We only want our sons back. Who will bring them home?” said Gurdeep Kaur, holding a photograph of Amritpal, who had just completed his Plus Two and dreamed of a new life in Australia.