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‘Hands cuffed, legs were chained’: Deportees from second US military aircraft recount ordeal
The C-17 aircraft, which landed at the Amritsar airport around on Saturday, was carrying the second batch of Indians to be deported by the Trump administration.
Deportees on board the US military aircraft carrying 117 illegal Indian immigrants have claimed that they were handcuffed and their legs were chained during the journey.
The C-17 aircraft, which landed at the Amritsar airport around 11.35 pm on Saturday, was carrying the second batch of Indians to be deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of its crackdown on illegal immigrants after February 5.
A third plane carrying over 100 deportees is expected to land on Sunday, with the maximum number of deportees from Haryana.
Daljit Singh, who was among the deportees who reached Amritsar on Saturday night, told reporters they were handcuffed and their legs were chained during the journey.
“Our legs were chained, and hands were also cuffed,” Daljit told reporters in Hoshiarpur, according to PTI.
Another deportee, Sourav, who reached his village Chandiwala in Punjab's Ferozepur district on Sunday, said that they were shackled en route to Amritsar.
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“We were handcuffed, and our legs were chained,” the 20-year-old was quoted as saying by PTI.
Sourav added that US authorities told him that they would be shifted to another camp. “A day before yesterday, we were told that we will be shifted to another camp. When we were put into a plane, they said we are being taken to India,” he said.
Harjit Singh, a resident of Khanowal Ghuman village in Gurdaspur district, said that he was deported on February.
"We reached home at around 6 am today," he was quoted as saying by PTI. “We were caught while crossing the US border on January 27 and kept at a detention centre for 18 days. We were deported on February 13, handcuffed with our legs chained.”
Meanwhile, two youths from Rajpura in Patiala district, who were among the deportees, were arrested by the police in connection with a murder case upon their landing in Amritsar, according to PTI.
The accused -- Sandeep Singh alias Sunny and Pradeep Singh -- were wanted in a murder case registered in Rajpura in 2023.
First flight and handcuff controversy
Earlier, a US Air Force plane carrying Indian deportees arrived in Amritsar on February 5. A total of 104 Indian nationals were on board the plane that landed in Amritsar.
Many deportees claimed that their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey and they were unshackled only after landing in Amritsar.
This triggered nationwide outrage, with the opposition demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue with the US during his visit to Washington.
After a widespread outcry in India, New Delhi had conveyed its concerns to Washington about the treatment of deportees.
On Saturday, Congress leader P Chidambaram had said that the arrival of the second US aircraft carrying Indian deportees from the United States would be a “test” for Indian diplomacy.
“All eyes will be on the US aircraft which will land today in Amritsar bringing back illegal immigrants. Will the deportees be handcuffed and their legs tied with ropes?” Chidambaram wrote on X. “It is a test for Indian diplomacy.”
