As US flight with deported Indians lands in Amritsar, relatives say they are saddled with debt, bleak future

Officials, who did not want to be named, said those from Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh would be sent home by road, and those from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh might be flown back to their states. A Punjab police officer also said they were unlikely to find any criminal on the first flight as the Centre had already scrutinised the list that the US had shared with it before sending them back.

Relatives of the deportees from Punjab said they had spent between Rs 30 lakh to 50 lakh to send them to the US, and many had reached the country in recent months via the illegal route. They had yet to apply for the asylum, they added.

“My grandson had gone to the US just 15 days ago. I did not agree with the decision to send him to the US. But I don’t know what has gone wrong with the youth. I don’t know how much money they spent on sending him,” said the grandfather of Ajaydeep Singh.

A relative of another deported person from the Rajatal village in Amritsar said his family member reached the US just a month ago. “He was a bus driver here. He has two children. He paid Rs 30 lakh to reach the US. He entered the US just 30 days ago,” said the relative.

“We had no contact with him for the last 15 days. We got a call from the police station today morning that Daler will reach Amritsar today,” he added.

On Tuesday, Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the state government would support those who were being deported by the US. “I want to convey a message to these Punjabis that the government is with them. I will take it up with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the Cabinet meeting on February 10 that we should take it up with the banks to waive off the interest of those who took loans to go to the US”.

Dhaliwal said it would be difficult for them to pay back the loan they may have taken to go to the US. “I will also hold a meeting with the banks. There should be a moratorium on the interest as the youths would have to settle down first, look for jobs and then pay back. I am a farmer myself. I know how difficult it is to pay back if one is unable to pay an instalment,” he added.