Just in case: City airport keeps plans ready for US deportees
Times of India | 9 February 2025
12 Kolkata: If a US deportation flight lands in Kolkata with illegal Indian immigrants from east and northeast India, the deportees will be treated with dignity. After a medical check-up, hot meals will be provided to them on arrival. Thereafter, they will be transported free of cost to their homes, either by road or by planes to airports closest to their homes on regular domestic flights.Delhi Election Results 2025Saffron surge in Delhi as BJP ends AAP's reign in landslide victoryDelhi results: Complete list of winners from AAP, BJP and CongressTop 10 winners and losers in Delhi electionsThe cost of travel will be borne by the Indian government.
The Foreigner Regional Registration Office in Kolkata has been identified as the nodal office to handle US deportation flights should they arrive here handcuffed and shackled in a US Air Force aircraft. India already registered its protest against treating deportees as hardcore criminals.
"Everyone being deported from the US will be treated with dignity. They may have been prosecuted in the US for illegally entering or overstaying in the country, but there are no criminal charges in India. Hence, they will be free citizens from the moment they touch down," an airport official told TOI.
However, when the first deportation flight landed in Amritsar, the deportees were questioned inside the airport terminal building by different govt agencies, including the Punjab Police, and various state and central intelligence agencies to check if they have any criminal record. On Wednesday, a US Air Force plane with 104 deportees landed in Amritsar. Another batch of 96 Indians is expected to reach India soon.
An airport official said a request was made to use the isolation bay if a deportation flight landed in Kolkata so that documents could be processed there before deportees are allowed to disembark. But airport authorities have said they can make a remote bay available but not the isolation bay, as the latter is reserved for emergencies like a bomb threat to a flight.
Speaking to TOI, sources said that while the chances of an American deportation flight arriving in Kolkata were unlikely, as not many from the east could have migrated there illegally, a preparatory meeting was held at the airport for such an eventuality following a directive from the Centre.
An official said the travel documents will be checked and stamped on arrival. While some of the deportees may have Indian passports, many others do not, as they used trafficking networks to reach the country without valid documents. These deportees have been issued emergency travel documents in conjunction with the Indian embassy in the US for the deportation.
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