Third US plane with 112 Indian deportees lands at Amritsar airport

Chandigarh: A US military aircraft carrying 112 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport late on Sunday evening, the third such plane bringing deportees amid a crackdown by the Donald Trump administration against illegal immigrants.

The C-17 aircraft landed at the airport at 10:03 pm, sources said.

Of the 112 deportees, 44 are from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 31 from Punjab, two from Uttar Pradesh and one each is from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, they added.

There are 19 women and 14 minors, including two infants, in the fresh batch of deportees, the sources said.

The family members of some of the deportees were present at the airport when the plane landed.

The third batch of deportees landed in Amritsar within 24 hours of another US military aircraft bringing the second such batch.

The deportees will be allowed to head home after the completion of all formalities, including immigration, verification and background checks.

Arrangements have been made for the transportation of the deportees to their respective destinations.

While those hailing from Punjab will be taken in vehicles arranged by the state government, the Haryana government has also sent two buses for transporting the deportees from the state to their native places.

On February 5, a US military aircraft carrying the first batch of 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar. Of the deportees in the first batch, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, and 30 from Punjab.

On Saturday evening, a second aircraft brought 116 deportees from the United States, amid questions raised by several political leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, over the BJP-led Centre's move to allow planes carrying immigrants to land in Amritsar.

Mann even accused the Centre of trying to "defame Punjab as part of a conspiracy".

The first two batches of deportees were in shackles during the journey.

On Saturday's flight, the Sikh deportees were allegedly without turbans.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) strongly condemned the US authorities for allegedly not allowing the Sikh deportees to wear turbans.

SGPC officials, who were deputed for providing "langar" and bus services to the deportees at the airport, gave "dastar" (turban) to the Sikhs.

Mann on Sunday said "the mass deportation from the United States is an eye-opener for all of us", as he requested youngsters to shun the idea of going abroad illegally and work hard in the state to ensure its socio-economic growth.

Among the second batch of deportees, those hailing from Punjab were taken to their homes in police vehicles around 4:30 am on Sunday after immigration and background checks.

However, two deportees belonging to Rajpura in Patiala district were arrested upon their arrival in Amritsar in connection with a murder case. Sandeep Singh alias Sunny and Pradeep Singh were wanted in a murder case registered in Rajpura in 2023.

The second batch of deportees had tales of toil, journey through dangerous and illegal pathways in pursuit of the American dream and its ultimate shattering to share. Many claimed that they were duped by travel agents.

Daljit Singh from Kurala Kalan village said he was taken to the US through the "dunki" route -- an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter America.

His experience highlighted the grim reality of illegal migration through such routes as many fall prey to fraudulent travel agents and endure unimaginable hardships in pursuit of a better life.

Sourav (20), who reached Chandiwala village in Ferozepur district on Sunday, told reporters that they were shackled en route to Amritsar. "We were handcuffed and our legs chained," he said.

Saddled with a mountainous debt, most of the family members of the deportees now stare at a bleak future as they had mortgaged their farmland and cattle to facilitate the journey abroad.

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Power Minister Harbhajan Singh met some of the deportees at the airport on Saturday night and said the state government stands by them like a rock.

About the shackling of deportees, Dhaliwal, in a post on X, said, "You will be very sad to know that throughout the journey, once again the American soldiers had tied the hands and feet of our Indian immigrants. Despite opposition to earlier cuffing, the Indians were treated inhumanly."

He said the government will put the travel agents, who duped these people, behind bars and requested the deportees to come forward and get their complaints lodged.