A total of 104 Indians deported from the US for illegal immigration arrived in Amritsar on Wednesday. Among them, 30 were from Punjab. One deportee, Jaspal Singh, claimed that they were handcuffed and had their legs chained throughout the journey back to India.
Jaspal Singh, a 36-year-old from Hardorwal village in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, stated that he and other deportees were handcuffed and had their legs chained throughout the journey until they reached Amritsar.
Singh informed that he was captured by the US Border Patrol after he crossed the US border on January 24.
He claimed he was duped by a travel agent who promised to send him to the US legally. He said the deal was made for Rs 30 lakh.
“I had asked the agent to send me through a proper visa (for the US). But he deceived me,” the deportee said, PTI reported.
Jaspal claimed that he reached Brazil by air in July last year. He said he was promised that the next leg of the journey, to the US, would be by air too. However, he was “cheated” by his agent, who forced him to cross the border illegally.
After staying in Brazil for six months, he crossed the border into the US but was arrested by US Border Patrol. He was held in custody for 11 days before being deported back home.
Jaspal said that he was not aware he was being deported to India.
“We thought we were being taken to another camp. Then a police officer told us that they were being taken to India,” he said
“We were handcuffed and legs were chained. These were opened at the Amritsar airport,” he added.
Jaspal said he was shattered by deportation. “A huge sum was spent. The money was borrowed.”
A US C-17 military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants from various states landed, marking the first batch of Indians deported under the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
This action took place just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington for talks with President Donald Trump.
Among the deportees, 33 were from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources reported.
Deportees from Punjab were returned to their respective hometowns.
(With PTI inputs)