Amritsar: The third batch of Indian deportees from the United States is set to arrive in Amritsar on Sunday evening as part of the ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration by the Donald Trump administration. This latest batch consists of 157 individuals, the majority of whom are from Haryana. They will be transported on a US military flight scheduled to land at Amritsar airport.
The development follows the return of 119 Indians on Saturday evening via a similar military flight. According to officials, among those deported in that batch, 67 were from Punjab and 33 from Haryana. The remaining deportees included eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Cousins held for murder
Two of the people who landed in India on Saturday, identified as cousins Sandeep and Pradeep, were taken into custody by Punjab police at the airport. Both were wanted in connection with a murder case in Patiala and had been declared proclaimed offenders. Authorities confirmed that the accused hailed from Rajpura town in Punjab.
The first group of Indian deportees from the US, comprising 104 individuals, had arrived in the country on February 5 via a military aircraft. All deportation flights carrying Indian illegal immigrants from the US have so far landed at Amritsar airport. However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has raised objections to using this particular airport for such operations.
Mann opposes deportation flights
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Mann 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?” Mann further said that India has multiple airbases where these flights could be redirected instead of using Amritsar for such purposes.
