AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH: A US navy C-17 Globemaster plane landed in Punjab’s Amritsar Wednesday afternoon with 104 deported Indians, grounding their ‘American dream’ that led them to stake their all in its pursuit.
The Union govt didn’t rule out extra deportation flights from the US, saying all repatriated residents whose antecedents had been verified – like previously underneath the Biden administration and through Donald Trump’s earlier stint as President – can be “accepted back”.
Sources stated this was the primary recognized occasion of the US deploying a navy plane to ship deported immigrants from India again dwelling. On why a C17 was used, a US embassy spokesperson solely stated the navy was supporting the brand new Trump administration’s efforts to expedite the elimination of unlawful migrants globally. When unlawful Indian immigrants had been final deported in Oct 2024, US authorities had used a constitution flight.
The arrivals in Amritsar included 25 girls and 13 youngsters. Though no official information was put out, the state-wise break-up based mostly on a number of studies is: Haryana 35, Gujarat 33, Punjab 31, three from UP and a couple of from Maharashtra.
On hypothesis in regards to the deportees being handcuffed, a Punjab govt official stated, “Some of them said barring the kids, they were made to wear handcuffs during the flight. I can’t confirm it, though.” The navy plane, which took off from San Antonio in Texas arrived in Amritsar at 1.55pm and returned round 5.15pm.
A number of of the deportees advised a govt official on the airport that they had been picked up “at the US-Mexico border about 10 days ago”. Some stated they travelled to the US from the UK.
Sources concerned within the clearance course of on the airport stated deportees from Punjab and Haryana had been despatched dwelling by street. These from Gujarat and different states had been scheduled to take flights late Wednesday. A senior police officer stated investigators would look into who helped the deportees attain the US and the way a lot cash they paid to those unlawful immigration brokers.
“They feel betrayed by whomever they gave money to. A Gujarati family claims to have paid Rs 1 crore to reach the US,” one other official stated. An uncle of a youth from a border village of Amritsar stated the household bought one-and-a-half acres of land and spent somewhat over Rs 42 lakh to ship his nephew overseas. “He reached the US via Mexico only a few months ago,” he stated.
Charanjit Singh, a retired police inspector in Punjab, was on the airport to obtain his grandson Ajaydeep Singh, a resident of Amritsar Cantt. He stated the younger man was dwelling in a camp earlier than being deported. On whether or not households of all of the deportees had been conscious in regards to the circumstances of their return, an official stated, “Some requested us not to inform their families.”
Particular counters had been arrange on the airport to course of formalities for the deportees. A number of police autos and buses had been despatched to the cargo terminal and used to move the deportees again to their hometowns.
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