New Delhi: The third group of Indian deportees from the United States arrived in Amritsar on Sunday night. The deportees were a part of Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration. This group, which included about 112 individuals, most of whom are from Haryana, were flown on a US military aircraft and landed at Amritsar airport. Sources said that out of the 112 deportees, 44 are from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 31 from Punjab, two from Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Himachal and Uttarakhand.
Earlier on Saturday evening, 119 Indian deportees arrived in a similar US military flight. Officials said among the deportees in that group, 67 hailed from Punjab and 33 from Haryana. The rest eight were from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
It was on February 5 that the first batch of Indian deportees from the US, including 104 persons, had returned to India in a US military aircraft.
Punjab CM raises objection as all deportation flights land in Amritsar
Till now, all deportation flights with Indian illegal immigrants from the US have landed at Amritsar airport. But this has not gone down well with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who has objected to using the airport for such operations.
On Saturday, Mann reportedly said, “Do not turn our holy city into a deportation center. Amritsar is known for landmarks like the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, Ram Tirath temple, Jallianwala Bagh, and Gobindgarh Fort. Would they allow such flights to land at Vatican City if the deportees were from there?” He added that India has several airbases where these flights could be redirected instead of using Amritsar for such purposes.
Controversy over deportees being ‘handcuffed, chained’
Deportees on board the military aircraft that landed on Saturday claimed that they were handcuffed and their legs chained during the entire journey. “Our legs were chained, and hands were also cuffed,” one of the deportees, Daljit, told reporters in Hoshiarpur, as per a report in PTI. Sourav, another deportee, also claimed that they were shackled during the journey to Amritsar.
On Sunday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor hit out at the US for deporting Indian nationals on a military aircraft and expressed serious concern if deportees were handcuffed and shackled during the flight. He pointed out that India should protest if deportees were subjected to such treatment.
