A 23-year-old man, who was deported from the US to Amritsar along with 111 others on Sunday, said he was tortured in a detention camp after being caught trying to enter the US illegally. He also claimed that he was kept in shackles during the deportation flight.
Jatinder Singh, one of the 112 Indian immigrants deported from the US to Amritsar on Sunday, shared his painful experience of staying for two weeks in a detention camp. In an interview with ‘India Today TV’ he said he was tortured and didn’t receive enough food. Singh also claimed that the US Army threw his turban into the trash after forcing him to remove it.
The 23-year-old said he wanted to move abroad and find a job to support his family because there weren’t enough jobs in Amritsar. He also alleged that he was kept in shackles for about 36 hours on the US military plane that brought him and 111 other undocumented Indians back to Amritsar on Sunday night.
Jatinder Singh said that the US Army made the air conditioner very cold and turned up the heater, which dried out his skin. “I didn’t get proper food there. They only gave me Lay’s chips and Frooti juice twice a day,” he explained.
Singh shared that in November 2024, he met an agent through his friends who promised to take him to the US. He paid the agent Rs 50 lakh for this. “My family sold all their land (1.3 acres) and I gave Rs 22 lakh to the agent in advance. I also sold the jewelry of my two married sisters to pay the rest,” he said while talking to ‘India Today TV’.
Jatinder Singh also said that the agent told him he would enter the US by first traveling through the jungles of Panama for three days, then taking a plane to Mexico, and from there, crossing the US border at Tijuana.
When asked if he knew that such a risky journey could lead to deportation, Jatinder Singh replied, “The agent said there would be no problems. He said he had experience helping illegal immigrants cross the border safely without being caught.”
He stated that the jungles of Panama were very thick, and he saw the bodies of other illegal immigrants, which he called a “depressing” sight.
He also mentioned that, “The agent cheated me and he fled halfway. It took me three days to cross the Panama jungles. When I finally crossed the US border, the border police caught me and kept me in a detention camp where I was tortured,”
Jatinder Singh said that he was kept in shackles on the US military plane, while men and children were not restrained during the 36-hour flight.
“My hands were handcuffed and my legs were tied. We had problems with food and using the washroom. They only unlocked our shackles 10 minutes before the plane landed,” he said. He added that he would now look for a job in India and would never try to go abroad again.
Concerns about how deported Indian immigrants are treated grew stronger earlier this month when a US Air Force plane with 104 deportees landed in Amritsar on February 5. Some people on the plane said they were kept in handcuffs on their wrists and ankles the whole flight and were only released after reaching India.
How many Illegal Indian Immigrants have reached India till now?
Over 300 illegal Indian immigrants have been deported from US to India till now. Out of the 12 deportees that landed at Amritsar airport on Sunday, 44 were from Haryana, 33 from Gujrat, 31 from Punjab, two from Uttar Pradesh and one each from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Late Saturday night, a second US military plane carrying 116 illegal Indian immigrants landed at Amritsar airport. Some of the men among the deportees said they were kept in shackles throughout the flight, and Sikh youths were allegedly made to remove their turbans, which led to strong criticism from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
Of the 116 deportees, 65 were from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, 8 from Gujarat, 2 each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
So far, the US has deported a total of 332 illegal Indian immigrants on all three flights.
Also read: Viral Video: Sikh Migrants Deported From US, Seen Turbanless At Indian Airport, Sparks Outrage!
