Kaithal: The latest batch of Indians deported by the US included 35 people from Haryana’s Kaithal, Karnal and Kurukshetra districts, officials said on Sunday.
A plane carrying illegal immigrants to the US landed at the Delhi airport late on Saturday night.
“Most of us were handcuffed while on the plane,” said Naresh Kumar, a deportee who hailed from Kaithal.
Among the deported people, 16 were from Karnal, 14 from Kaithal and five from Kurukshetra. They were brought to their respective districts and handed over to their family members, officials said.
Karnal Superintendent of Police Ganga Ram Punia confirmed that 16 of the deportees hailed from different villages in the district.
According to Kaithal Deputy Superintendent of Police Lalit Kumar, 14 men were brought from Delhi airport to Kaithal Police Lines on Sunday. Among them, four each were from Kalayat and Pundri blocks, two were from Kaithal, three were from Dhand block and one hailed from Guhla block.
The DSP said the men had taken the treacherous ‘donkey route’ to enter the US.
Meanwhile, the immigrants -- most of them in the 25-40 age group -- expressed dejection at the deportation, saying that they had spent lakhs of rupees by selling off lands, borrowing from relatives and draining out their savings to migrate to the US in pursuit of a better future.
Naresh Kumar, who were among the deportees, said that an agent promised to send him to the US for a fee of Rs 42 lakh, but he had to ultimately eke out Rs 57 lakh.
“I paid Rs 42 lakh by selling one acre of land. Thereafter, I paid Rs 6 lakh that I borrowed on interest. My brother sold some land to raise Rs 6.5 lakh. Then my relative paid Rs 2.85 lakh in June. A total of Rs 57 lakh was paid,” he said.
Admitting that it took him two months on the donkey route to enter the US, Naresh Kumar said he would not advice anyone to do so. He spent 14 months in jail before being deported to India.
The Kaithal DSP said police have not received a formal complaint against any agent yet.