US military plane carrying 116 deported NRIs lands in Amritsar

Amritsar: A US military cargo plane, C17 Globemaster III, carrying the second batch of 116 NRIs deported from the US, landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Ji International Airport in Amritsar at 11.40 pm on Friday. The group included four women and two children.

Initial reports suggested 119 Indians would be on board, but the final count was 116. A third batch of 157 Indians is expected to arrive on Sunday.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) arranged langar for the deportees and their families outside the airport. After security checks, the deportees will receive food before being transported to their home districts.

The aircraft arrived an hour and a half later than expected, having been scheduled to land at 10 pm. The deportees include 65 from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Most are aged between 18 and 30.

On February 5, the first batch of 104 Indians, including 30 from Punjab and 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, were deported by the US. Another US flight carrying around 157 Indian nationals is expected to land at the same airport on February 16.

The C17 Globemaster III was stationed at the main terminal, where immigration and other checks were conducted. During the previous arrival on February 5, the US aircraft was parked in the cargo area.