My pension was not enough to raise two kids: ex-serviceman deported from US

Mandeep served the Indian Army for more than 17 years. “I hoped that I would support my family after reaching the US. But I was not that lucky,” he said.

Returning along with Mandeep was ex-serviceman Gurcharan Singh’s son Jatinder Singh, a 23-year-old resident of Butala village in Jandiala area. He also went on ‘dunki route’. His father had paid Rs 50 lakh to an agent who promised comfortable travel to the US.

A strict vegetarian, Jatinder had to taste chicken to survive on the way to the US.

“The agent kept us in a house for nearly 52 days, where I had to compromise on my vegetarian diet. Being a baptised Sikh, I had never eaten non-vegetarian food. We were given only rice mixed with chicken at the house where we were kept. I had only two options: either to eat meat or die,” said Jatinder, who after completing his high school in 2019, had tried in vain to move abroad legally.

Throughout the journey, Jatinder faced one problem after another, including life-threatening challenges. “I almost drowned in a river after falling from the boat. They put us in a container where it was difficult to breathe. We remained locked in that container for 15 hours. We peed into bottles during the journey in the container,” he said.

“It was a translator from Pakistan who broke the news to us after we were aboard the aircraft. Neither we were given any clue that we will be deported nor did we get any chance to present our case,” said Jatinder.