The fate of 22 of 25 minor boys trafficked to France in early 2016 remains uncertain. They have been reported "missing" after they were dumped by their traffickers at a gurudwara in France.

The travel agents, who took them to France forged documents to fake their identity and age. The minors were shown as school children and members of junior rugby team.

The CBI has registered an FIR in this regard. Initial investigation suggests that these minors were drawn from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. They were illegally taken to France by three travel agents on the pretext of providing to rugby coaching.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE CASE?

A group of 25 minors were trafficked to France last year by three travel agents. They were shown as students of two Kapurthala (Punjab)-based schools. The travel agents brought them to Delhi, from where they flew to Paris to participate in a rugby training camp on the basis of alleged invitation received from the French Federation, Paris. All the 25 minors visited Paris and also attended a rugby training camp there for about a week. A few of them got suspicious of the activities of the travel agents and two returned home. Soon, the travel agents cancelled the returned tickets of the rest 23 trafficked minors. One of the remaining 23 tried to escape but was arrested by the French police. The boy told the French police about the trafficking by travel agents. The French police have launched probe to trace the rest of the group. Those, who got stranded in Paris, were allegedly dumped at a local gurudwara. There is no information about their whereabouts now. It is suspected that they might have been shipped out of France. The Interpol reported the matter to India following which the CBI registered a case and arrested three travel agents busting the alleged human trafficking ring. A source familiar with investigation told India Today that those sent to France were "neither rugby players nor school children. The travel agents used forged school letter pads to prepare a list of fake school children." "The issue is highly sensitive. We tried to trace the parents but no leads were found. The probe will get a momentum if the complainants come forward," IG Jalandhar range Arpit Shukla said. The traffickers snatched away the passports of the aspiring rugby players before they were dumped at a gurudwara in Paris. Early investigation indicates that parents of the "missing" players paid Rs 20-30 lakh each for rugby coaching in France.

(With inputs from Manjeet Sehgal in Chandigarh)