CHANDIGARH: A video released by the American authorities on Thursday confirmed what the 104 deportees said upon landing in Amritsar the day before—that during the 40-hour flight, the US officials cuffed their hands and feet and were not allowed to move from their seats.
They were only grudgingly allowed to use the washroom but with the shackles on. They had to drag themselves to and fro. The handcuffs remained while they ate food, too.
The video the United States Customs and Border Protection (USBP) released went viral on Thursday and showed the deportees handcuffed and chained at the ankles. USBP Chief Michael W Banks shared the video on X and wrote that USBP and partners successfully returned illegal “aliens” to India, adding, “If you cross illegally, you will be removed”.
One of the 104 deportees, 30-year-old Lovepreet Kaur of Bholath in Kapurthala, underwent a horrible experience of going to the US and returning immediately after spending a whopping Rs 1 crore.
Back in Amritsar, she said she reportedly paid Rs 1 crore to reach the US with her 10-year-old son had landed there on. They left India on January 2, reaching the US on January 27.
They first flew to Medellin in Colombia and stayed there for two weeks. Their next stop was San Salvador, from where they walked and crossed into Guatemala and took a taxi to Mexico. Two days later, they crossed the border but got caught.
“We were kept in a camp for five days and then chained from the waist, our feet and hands cuffed. Only the children were spared. She was in a group comprising seven families and some single men and women. “No one told us where we were being taken. We were told we had returned to India when we arrived in Amritsar. Our dreams shattered in that instant.”
Deportee Harwinder Singh of Tahli village in Hoshiarpur said the journey was more mentally traumatic than physically exhausting. “The crew and officials forced us to eat with handcuffs. They ignored our repeated requests to remove the handcuffs.”
It is the trauma that possibly led to another deportee, 27-year-old Davinderjit Singh of Jalandhar, going missing. He returned home from Amritsar Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, he took his bike and left home. The family has been unable to locate him since then.
Another case of a wasted journey is Jaspal Singh’s. He is from Hardorawal village in Gurdaspur. His agent told him he would reach the US by air. He reached Brazil last July. But the final leg never materialised. After six months, he managed to cross over to the US, only to be caught by US Border Patrol. He was in custody for 11 days before being sent home.