‘We were handcuffed,’ claims deportee who arrived in 2nd batch from US
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Indians deported from the US being escorted by the police as they leave the airport in Amritsar, early on Sunday, Feb. 16 , 2025. PTI
Chandigarh: Daljit Singh, one of the deportees who arrived in Amritsar from the United States on Saturday night, claimed on Sunday that he and others were handcuffed with their legs chained throughout the journey.
"Our legs were chained, and our hands were also cuffed," Singh told reporters in Hoshiarpur.
Singh, a resident of Kurala Kalan village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, was among the 116 illegal Indian immigrants deported from the US on a special aircraft that landed at Amritsar airport late Saturday night. He revealed that he had attempted to enter the US through the 'donkey route', an illegal and perilous pathway often used by migrants.
His wife, Kamalpreet Kaur, alleged that he had been deceived by a travel agent who promised him a direct flight to the US but instead subjected him to a long and uncertain journey. She said a man from their village had introduced them to the agent, who initially assured legal travel but later took him through multiple locations, raising suspicions about the authenticity of the process.
The C-17 aircraft carrying the deportees landed at Amritsar airport around 11:35 pm on Saturday. This was the second batch of Indians sent back under the Donald Trump administration’s intensified crackdown on illegal immigration.
After undergoing immigration and background checks, deportees from Punjab were escorted to their respective homes in police vehicles around 4:30 am on Sunday. The Haryana government also arranged transportation for deportees from the state.
Many among the first batch of deportees, who arrived on February 5, mostly from Punjab, had recounted similar experiences of being misled by agents while seeking a better future for their families. Their hopes were shattered when they were apprehended at the US border and deported in shackles.
Of the latest batch, 65 deportees are from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Most of them are aged between 18 and 30, according to sources.
A third aircraft carrying 157 deportees is expected to arrive at Amritsar airport on Sunday, sources added.
With PTI inputs