The daring escape of a 13-year-old Afghan boy, who hid in the wheel well of a plane from Kabul to Delhi, has revived memories of a far more tragic journey three decades ago by two brothers from Punjab.

The Afghan teenager, from Kunduz, was spotted soon after landing in Delhi and deported within hours. He told airport security officials that his act was born of “curiosity” and carried nothing more than a small speaker with him on the two-hour flight.

But the incident echoes the story of Pardeep and Vijay Saini, brothers from Punjab who attempted a similar escape in October 1996 in search of a better life in the UK. Misled by an agent into believing that the wheel well led to the luggage compartment, the brothers paid £150 and sneaked onto the runway at Delhi airport. They climbed into the

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