Three Punjabi Youths Missing in Iran Rescued by Cops in Tehran

Jalandhar: A week after they were reported missing, three Punjabi youths who were supposed to reach Australia on a work permit visa but were kidnapped and tortured by Pakistani donkers have been rescued by cops in Tehran, Iran. 

The three youths, identified as Jaspal Singh from Nawanshahr, Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur and Husanpreet Singh from Sangrur districts, went missing on May 1, 2025, when they reached Tehran airport.

Sources told The Wire that the three Indians were rescued on Sunday evening after the Iran police raided the hideout of the kidnappers. “They have been in touch with their families ever since. The embassy is getting them treated and they will return to India after the exit formalities get completed,” they said.

It is understood that the police authorities have confirmed that the kidnappers were primarily a gang of Pakistani nationals. The police had also rescued some Pakistani nationals, who were rescued in the same operation, sources said.

Sources also confirmed that the three men were being treated for knife wounds, as they had been tortured by the gang members.

Pakistan shares a 900-kilometre border with Iran, making cross-border entry relatively easy. "There is a lot of diesel smuggling from Iran to Pakistan, and many is these gangs are involved in that,” sources noted.

Left clueless about the condition of their sons, the families of the youths have heaved a sigh of relief. The Pakistani donkers, who kidnapped the youths right from outside the Tehran airport in Iran had initially made a ransom call of Rs 1 crore, which they later reduced to Rs 54 lakh – Rs 18 lakh each from the three youths.

While the families of the three youths were yet to get any official confirmation about the rescue of their sons, two youths were able to speak to their families briefly on June 3, 2025 evening. “The donkers kidnapped and tortured our sons. They would make video calls and force our sons to seek additional Rs 18 lakh each. We could see deep cuts and injury marks on their bodies, as they used to be naked during the calls”, the families had shared. 

Talking to The Wire, Yudhvir Singh, a cousin of Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur district said that they received a call from his cousin between 5.30 pm to 6 pm on June 3, 2025. 

“It was a brief call during which Amritpal just informed us that they have been rescued and were being taken to the Indian Embassy in Tehran, Iran,” he said.

Yudhvir said that Amritpal also informed them that he will call them again tomorrow i.e. on June 4, 2025. “We also received a call from SHO Model Town Police station, Hoshiarpur Gursahib Singh today morning, who inquired about the Amritpal’s rescue,” he added. 

Similarly, Husanpreet Singh’s cousin Manpreet Singh also shared information that his cousin was fine and had been rescued. “We received a call from an Iran number on June 3 evening from Husanpreet Singh. He just spoke for a few seconds and informed them that they had been rescued and were being taken to the Indian Mission in Iran,” he said. 

However, Jaspal Singh’s brother Ashok Kumar told The Wire that they learnt about the rescue operation of the youths from the media. “We got to know about the safe rescue operation of our sons from the media persons. All that we know so far is through media reports in some Punjabi newspapers only. We did not receive any phone call from my brother or any Punjab Police official so far,” he said. 

Kumar added that the news of his brother’s rescue felt like a rebirth for the entire family. “We spent every second of every day and night praying for the safety of the youths. We are waiting for the moment to hear from our son or from a government official, so that our fears are allayed,” he said, holding on to the hope of seeing his brother soon.

Earlier on May 28, the Indian Embassy in Tehran had issued an official statement on social media platform X informing that three Indian youths have gone missing in Iran and that efforts were on to trace them.

An FIR under Sections 143, 318(4), 61(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professionals (Regulation) Act, 2014, had been registered against three Hoshiarpur based travel agents – Dheeraj Atwal, Kamal Atwal and Saavita Soya – based on complaints by the families at their respective districts.

Earlier, Ashok Kumar had also shared that he, along with the brothers of the other two Punjabi youths, had arranged money and went themselves to drop travel agent Dheeraj Atwal at Chandigarh airport. The travel agent has been missing since May 4, 2025, the day he boarded a flight from Chandigarh, reportedly to Iran.

“Initially, Dheeraj stayed in touch with us for three days. Later, he told us that he would go to Iran to trace the youths, and since then he has been missing. His younger brother Kamal Atwal was also not traceable. Their house was also lying locked in the village since then,” he said.

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