Handcuffed, legs chained: Deportee from Punjab recalls horror on US military plane

Jaspal Singh, who was among 104 deportees brought in a US aircraft, says he was captured by US Border Patrol on January 24

Chandigarh: Jaspal Singh, who was among 104 deportees brought in a US aircraft on Wednesday, claimed that they were handcuffed and legs were chained throughout the journey and those were taken off only after landing at the Amritsar airport.

Singh (36), who hails from Hardorwal village in Gurdaspur district, said he was captured by the US Border Patrol after he crossed the US border on January 24.

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A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants from various States landed here on Wednesday, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump government as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.

Of them, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources said. Nineteen women and 13 minors, including a four-year-old boy and two girls aged five and seven, were among the deportees, they said. Deportees from Punjab were taken to their native places in police vehicles from the Amritsar airport.

After reaching his home town on Wednesday night, Jaspal said he was defrauded by a travel agent as he was promised that he would be sent to the US in a legal way. “I had asked the agent to send me through a proper visa (for the US). But he deceived me,” said Jaspal. He said the deal was done at Rs 30 lakh.

Jaspal claimed that he reached Brazil by air in July last year. He said he was promised that the next leg of journey, to the US, would be by air too. However, he was “cheated” by his agent, who forced him to cross the border illegally.

After staying for six months in Brazil, he crossed the border to the US, but was arrested by the US Border Patrol. He was kept there in custody for 11 days and then sent back home, said Jaspal.

Jaspal said he didn’t know he was not aware he was being deported to India. “We thought we were being taken to another camp. Then a police officer told us that they were being taken to India. We were handcuffed and legs were chained. These were opened at the Amritsar airport,” he claimed.

Jaspal said he was shattered with deportation. “A huge sum was spent. The money was borrowed.”

Earlier, Jaspal’s cousin Jasbir Singh said, “We came to know about his deportation through the media on Wednesday morning”.

About the deportations, he said, “These are issues of governments. When we go abroad for work, we have big dreams for a better future for our families. Those have now been shattered.”

Earlier in the day, the C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force landed at the Amritsar airport.

The US action came just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington to hold wide-ranging talks with President Donald Trump. The deportees were questioned inside the airport terminal building by different government agencies, including the Punjab Police, and various state and central intelligence agencies to check if they have any criminal record.