(Image source from: Tribune India)

Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister of India has said that illicit agents have commenced using asylum seeking as a way for human trafficking from India to other countries.

Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat report the highest number of such cases where agents people are trafficked to other countries and they seek asylum on political grounds in those countries, she said.

"The illegal agents take Rs 20-25 lakh from these people and some of them have to cross five countries to reach Mexico and upon reaching the United States, they seek asylum," she said while addressing a conference of state women commissions on the issues of Non-Resident Indian Marriages and Trafficking of Women and Children on Friday.

She further added saying, however, when embassy officials go to meet these asylum seekers they refuse as the agents have told them that if they meet the officials it would seem that they are being assisted by the Indian government and their request for seeking asylum would be rejected, said Swaraj.

"What these agents are doing is also a form of trafficking, mostly trapping people falling in the age group of 20-22 years," she said.

Swaraj said the number of people seeking asylum has been climbing. It increased from 52 to 101 to 340. "We have launched a campaign to spread awareness about such fraudulent agents, advising people to avail the services of only government-authorized agents," she said, noting that there is a need to break the circle of trafficking run by these agents.

Over 7,000 from India filed applications for asylum in the U.S. last year, according to a report by the UN refugee agency which said the U.S. was the largest recipient of new asylum requests in 2017.

By Sowmya Sangam