Handcuffed, Legs Chained: Deportees Narrate Ordeal As Their American Dream Crash-Lands In Amritsar
Chandigarh: They’d dreamt of settling within the US for a greater life however they got here again in ‘shackles’, observing a bleak future. Lots of the deportees, who had been within the US navy plane that landed on the Amritsar airport on Saturday carrying 116 unlawful Indian immigrants, stated their household organized giant sums of cash by both promoting or mortgaging their farm land or by borrowing from their relations, solely to ship them to the US.
Among the many recent batch of deportees, 65 had been from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two every from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one every from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Sourav (20), who reached his village Chandiwala in Punjab’s Ferozepur district on Sunday, stated he was caught by the US authorities as tried to enter the nation by crossing the border on January 27. He left house for the US on December 17 final yr.
“We had been stored in a camp (detention centre) for 18 days,” Sourav stated, including that their cellphones had been taken away. “A day earlier than yesterday, we had been informed that we’ll be shifted to a different camp. After we had been put right into a airplane, they stated we’re being taken to India,” Sourav stated.
Stating that his household spent Rs 45-46 lakh to ship him to overseas, Sourav stated, “Two acres of farm land had been offered and cash was borrowed from a fee agent.” Sharing particulars about his journey, he stated he was taken to US border through Amsterdam, Panama, and Mexico.
On whether or not they had been shackled en path to Amritsar, Sourav stated, “We had been handcuffed and our legs had been chained.” Harjit Singh, who hails from Khanowal Ghuman village in Gurdaspur district, was deported from the US alongside along with his cousin. “We reached house at round 6 am immediately,” he stated.
“We had been caught whereas crossing the US border on January 27 and stored at a detention centre for 18 days. We had been deported on February 13, handcuffed with our legs chained,” he stated. Harjit stated his household spent Rs 90 lakh on him and his cousin for them to go to the US.
“We had been assured that we’ll be taken to America legally, however we weren’t,” Harjit stated. Mantaj Singh (22), a resident of Bodal village in Hoshiarpur district, stated he was caught by the US Border Patrol as quickly as he tried to enter the US, including that he was taken there through ‘donkey route’ — an unlawful and dangerous pathway utilized by migrants to enter the US.
The dad and mom of Sahil Preet Singh, a resident of Behbal Bahadur village in Kapurthala district, stated they spent Rs 40-45 lakh for sending their son overseas. Claiming {that a} journey agent duped them, Sahil’s mom Harvinder Kaur stated the household organized the cash by promoting agricultural land and gold ornaments, and by borrowing from their relations.
She additionally demanded the Punjab authorities to provide a job to his son and file a prison case in opposition to the fraudulent agent. Jaswinder Singh from Dharamkot village in Moga district left house for the US almost 45 days in the past. A sarpanch from his village stated the household offered one-and-a-half acres of land, raised Rs 45 lakh, gave it to a journey agent who in flip duped them.
Many from the primary batch of unlawful immigrants who landed in Amritsar on February 5, most of them from Punjab, had additionally stated they wished emigrate to the US for a greater life for his or her households however had been duped by their brokers.
