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Dreams turn deadly
The Indian diaspora in the U.S. and Canada must view these stories as a stark warning.
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Staff Reporter - Thu, 30, Oct 2025
- 01:44 EDT
- 12
Representative image / Pexels
A disturbing international kidnapping racket involving prospective immigrants from India is emerging after four young men from Mansa, a small town in Gujarat, India, disappeared in Iran in the week after Diwali. Immigration “agents” promised them jobs in Australia, arranged their travel, but sent them to Tehran instead.
Upon arrival, kidnappers seized them, and their families have received horrifying ransom videos demanding huge payments for their release.
The Mansa case reveals a growing transnational network, the Indian government is now aware of, that is preying on Indians who chase dreams of life abroad. In Punjab, kidnappers held an entire family hostage in Iran and tortured them until their relatives paid nearly $95,000.
In Delhi, abductors beat 26-year-old Himanshu Mathur on video while demanding $120,000. In Gujarat, traffickers deceived a couple into paying more than $135,000 for an illegal route to the United States, and then kidnapped them in Iran.
The traffickers are following a consistent pattern. They use social media and word of mouth to target young Indians who are seeking opportunities overseas. They promise quick, low-cost migration to the U.S., Canada, or Australia, claiming they can “fast-track” the process. Once victims agree, the agents instruct them to fly first to Iran or another “transit” country. When they land, local gangs confiscate their passports and phones, imprison them in remote houses, and send brutal ransom videos to their families.
The kidnappers are operating through a web of Indian, Pakistani, and Iranian collaborators who are sharing profits and erasing evidence. Families back home are selling land, mortgaging property, or pawning jewelry to pay ransom.
The Indian diaspora in the U.S. and Canada must view these stories as a stark warning and alert prospective immigrants back in India not to fall for dubious visa agents. Aspiring migrants can stay safe only by verifying every opportunity through official government channels and refusing any “shortcut” routes.
Each ransom video shows the same painful truth of dreams of a better life turning into nightmares when traffickers exploit desperation.
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