A US military aircraft carrying 116 illegal Indian immigrants landed at Amritsar airport late on Saturday night, according to reports. The C-17 aircraft arrived at the airport at approximately 11.35 pm, later than the initially expected time of 10 pm.
This marks the second batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. It remains unclear whether the deportees were in shackles, as had been the case with the previous group.
Following an immigration and background check, the deportees, mostly from Punjab, were transported to their homes in police vehicles at around 4.30 am on Sunday. Some of their families were present at the airport to receive them.
Reports had initially suggested that the aircraft would be carrying 119 deportees. However, the final count was confirmed at 116, with 65 individuals from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Most of the deportees were between the ages of 18 and 30, according to a news outlet.
A third aircraft, carrying 157 deportees, is expected to land on Sunday.
Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Power Minister Harbhajan Singh met with some of the deportees at the airport. Dhaliwal assured them of the state government’s support and urged them not to lose hope.
On February 5, a similar US military aircraft had transported 104 illegal Indian immigrants to Amritsar. Among them, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, and 30 were from Punjab. Many of those deported in the earlier batch had recounted being misled by agents who had promised them safe passage to the US, only for them to be detained at the border and sent back in shackles.
Relatives of the latest group of deportees expressed distress, with some revealing that they had taken loans by pledging farmland and livestock to finance their family members’ migration in search of better opportunities.
A family member of Daljit Singh, a resident of Kurala Kalan village in the Tanda area of Hoshiarpur district, claimed he had been deceived by a travel agent.
Kamalpreet Kaur, Daljit’s wife, alleged that the agent had promised her husband a direct flight to the US but instead sent him via the “donkey route,” a dangerous and illegal pathway used by migrants.
On Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann criticised the central government over the deportations, reiterating his earlier stance against US aircraft landing in Amritsar with deportees.
“Do not make our holy city a deport centre,” he said.
Mann visited the international airport and stated that his government had arranged transport to take Punjab residents back to their hometowns. He added that his administration had also offered to transport deportees from Haryana to their destinations, though Haryana’s government stated that it had already made similar arrangements.
Deportees from other states were scheduled to fly to Delhi on Sunday morning before proceeding to their respective homes. Food arrangements were also made for all the returnees, Mann said.
To tackle fraudulent immigration practices, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav recently formed a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Additional Director General of Police (NRI Affairs) Praveen Sinha, to probe complaints against travel agents involved in such schemes.
DGP Yadav urged the public to provide information that could aid in identifying and arresting those responsible. He also advised citizens to engage only with licensed immigration agents and thoroughly verify their credentials to avoid being exploited.
Also Read: Second Fight Carrying Indian Deportees Set To Land In Punjab
