US military plane carrying 104 deported Indians lands in Amritsar; 30 from Punjab

A US Air Force C-17 Globemaster carrying 104 Indians deported from the United States landed at Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport in Amritsar on Wednesday, February 5. It was the first such flight to India since President Donald Trump launched his crackdown on undocumented migrants.

The deportees included 33 each from Gujarat and Haryana, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. Nineteen women and 13 children were among them.

After questioning and paperwork at the airport, those from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh were taken home by road. Several families said they had spent lakhs of rupees to send their children to America.

Allegations that the deportees were handcuffed and had their legs shackled during the journey caused outrage and opposition protests in Parliament. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha that US rules have provided for restraints since 2012, and that India was engaging with the US to make sure deportees were not mistreated.

It did not end there. Two more US military flights landed in Amritsar on February 15 and 16 with more than 200 others, renewing debate in Punjab over the dangers of the 'donkey' route abroad.