Two youths from Punjab and Haryana who set out for the US through the 'dunki' route in search of jobs have been killed by human traffickers in Guatemala after being held captive for ransom, the family members of the deceased have claimed.

The duo, Saheb Singh (21) of Moriya village near Dasuya in Hoshiarpur and Yuvraj Singh (18) of Mohna village in Kaithal, had started their journey in October last year.

Yuvraj’s family learnt of his death a few days ago when one of the "donkers" (those operating illegal migration routes) sent a death certificate and photos of him and Saheb, claiming both had been killed.

Yuvraj’s maternal uncle Gurpej Singh said three Haryana travel agents had taken large sums of money from the family, promising a safe journey through other contacts in their network.

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