Bodies of Indian illegal immigrants identified in UK

Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Mar 9 (PTI) Two illegal immigrants from India who
died in 2006 while reaching Britain packed in a lorry have
been identified following painstaking investigation by the
Essex police in coordination with the Punjab Police.

The two Indians were dumped in Witham, Essex, in June
2006 on a hot summer day. One of them was already dead by the
time the police and paramedic personnel arrived, and the other
died a few weeks later.

The two have now been identified as Gurbaksh Singh, 34,
from Fatehabad and Chaten Walia, 22, from Jalandhar.

They were among the thousands of people who try to enter
Europe and particularly Britain illegally by paying
international human smuggling gangs. Many of them go through
hazardous conditions en route, including hiding in lorries
that travel to Britain.

In this case, five illegal immigrants were crammed into a
toolbox of the lorry during the nine-hour journey to Britain
from Holland.

The lorry driver, Georgji Negatin, was jailed at the
Chelmsford Crown Court in December 2007 for eight years after
he denied but was convicted of manslaughter.

Since the case began, officers from Essex Police tried to
find out the names of the dead men, who had nothing on them
that gave clues to their identity.

Officers from the major investigation team worked with
police in India and travelled there last June to collect blood
samples from the families and make other enquiries.

The identity of the two was finally confirmed in
December. Their bodies will now be repatriated when formal
procedures have been completed.

Police spokesman Angela Hastings said: "While it is sad
for their families, at least they know what happened to their
sons or husband and they can grieve for them.

"It has been a very long, complex case that has been the
biggest challenge of my career but ultimately it is satisfying
to reach this conclusion." PTI PS
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