A US flight with the third group of Indian deportees arrived at Shri Guru Ram Dass International Airport in Amritsar on Sunday. The flight, which had approximately 112 deportees, had the highest number from Haryana, with 44 people. The rest were 33 from Gujarat, 31 from Punjab, 2 from Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
This came a day after a U.S. military C-17 plane brought 117 illegal Indian immigrants to Amritsar, late on Saturday evening at about 11:35 pm. Of the 117 deportees, 65 were from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, 8 from Gujarat, and fewer from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
Three deportees on the flight alleged that they were handcuffed and shackled during the flight. Two young men from Rajpura, Patiala, were also arrested by police upon arrival in relation to a murder case in 2023. The accused, Sandeep Singh (also known as Sunny) and Pradeep Singh, were wanted in the case.
The initial group of Indian deportees had landed in Amritsar on February 5, with 104 people on the flight. Ever since, Indian deportee flights have been landing at Amritsar.
However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was concerned about the deportation being sent to Amritsar as the destination. He spoke against the move, stating, “Do not make our holy city (Amritsar) a deportation center… Amritsar is famous for the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, Ram Tirath temple, Jallianwala Bagh, and Gobindgarh Fort. Would they let deportation flights come to Vatican City if the deportees were from there?”