Third batch of 157 Indians, deported by US, to land in Amritsar today

The third batch of Indian immigrants will arrive in Amritsar on Sunday evening as the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration continues.

A total of 157 deportees, out of which, maximum are from Haryana, will be in the US military flight set to land at the Amritsar airport.

Previous deportations

The arrival of the fresh batch of deportees comes just a day after 119 Indians were brought back from the US on Saturday evening in a military plane. Out of the 119 deportees, 67 were from Punjab and 33 from Haryana, said officials. Of the remaining, eight were from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Among the deportees who arrived in India on Saturday, two men, Sandeep and Pradeep, who are also cousins, were arrested by Punjab police at the airport. They were wanted in a murder case back home in Punjab’s Patiala. Both the accused hailed from Rajpura town and had already been declared proclaimed offenders in the murder case, said the police.

The first batch of Indian deportees from the US, which included 104 people, were flown in a military plane to India on February 5.

The flights carrying Indian illegal immigrants from the US back to India have been landing at the Amritsar airport. The new batch of deportees will also land at the same location. However, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has expressed his reservation over using Amritsar airport for the purpose.

Talking to the reporters on Satuday, Mann said, “Do not make our holy city (Amritsar) a deport centre…Amritsar is known for the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, Ram Tirath temple, Jallianwala Bagh and Gobindgarh Fort. Will they allow landing (of deportation flights) at Vatican City, if they (deportees) hail from there?”

He also added that there are many airbases in the country and the flight can be landed at any one of them.