Several deported Indians who returned to India in a US military plane have expressed feelings of betrayal by the agents they paid to help them illegally enter the country.
A senior official told the Times of India that many deported migrants felt betrayed by the individuals who they had paid to help them reach the US. The official shared that one Gujarati family claimed to have paid ₹1 crore for the illegal journey.
In another incident, the official told TOI that an uncle from a village in Amritsar shared that his family sold 1.5 acres of land and spent over ₹42 lakh to send his nephew abroad, who reached the U.S. via Mexico just a few months ago.
According to the report, the senior police officer indicated that authorities would investigate who assisted the deportees in reaching the U.S. and the amounts paid to these illegal immigration agents.
A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived in Amritsar on February 5. This was the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration. According to a report from Times of India, of these 104 deported individuals, 79 were men and 25 were women. Sources told PTI that 33 were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
Were the deportees handcuffed?
A viral post is been circulating on social media which showed that that Indians were “handcuffed” and “humiliated” while on board the plane. However, PIB Fact Check said that “The image being shared in these posts does not pertain to Indians. Instead, it shows those deported to Guatemala.”
Earlier, while speaking to PTI, Jaspal Singh, who was among 104 deportees brought in a US aircraft also claimed that their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey and they were unshackled only after landing at the Amritsar airport.
Meanwhile, the US action of deporting came just days before PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington for wide-ranging talks with President Donald Trump.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
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