07022025-TTC-01.qxd 2/7/2025 12:46 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 37 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 AFTER TRUMP’S CLAIM, ISRAEL SET FOR GAZA ‘EXODUS’ WORLD /thetribunechd PROBE ORDERED INTO YOUTH’S SUICIDE AFTER ‘TORTURE’ J&K GOLD CLIMBS ~270 TO HIT FRESH PEAK OF ~86,070 BUSINESS GILL STEERS INDIA TO 4-WKT WIN OVER ENGLAND SPORT friday | 7 february 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Engaging with US to ensure deportees Had to eat with handcuffs on: Hry youth recalls 32-hr ordeal aren’t mistreated, Jaishankar tells Parl Anil Kakkar Says rules provide for using restraints; women, children exempted If you cross illegally, you’ll be removed, warns US agency Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 6 Addressing the controversy surrounding the handcuffing and shackling of illegal migrants deported by the US, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said, “Since 2012, the US rules provide for using ‘restraints’ on those being deported. Women and children are exempted.” India, he said, was engaging with the US government to ensure that those returning were not mistreated. The minister was making a suo motu statement in the Rajya Sabha following an outrage in the country over the alleged mistreatment meted out to 104 Indian nationals who were shackled and handcuffed while being deported. They had landed in Amritsar on board a military plane yesterday. Jaishankar said deportation had been going on for long. He cited figures since 2009 to say that hundreds of people were deported each year by the US to India. On the issue of handcuffs and shackles, the minister A grab of the US Border Patrol video of Indian deportees with hands and legs chained. NEED TO ENCOURAGE LEGAL MOBILITY ❝ It is intoour collectivelegal interests encourage mobility & discourage illegal movement. It’s an obligation on all countries to take back their nationals if they’re found living abroad illegally. S Jaishankar, EAM said, “The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a standard operating procedure, effective from 2012, which provides for the use of INDIANS DEPORTED FROM US IN PAST 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 restraints”. The ICE has informed that women and children are not restrained. “For toilet breaks, deportees are unrestrained,” said the 734 799 597 530 515 591 708 1,303 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 1,024 1,180 2,042 1,889 805 862 617 1,368 minister. This morning, the chief of the US Border Patrol, Michael Banks, posted a video continued on page 9 edit: don’t ignore ‘dunki’ New Delhi, February 6 US Border Patrol (USBP) chief Michael Banks has shared a video purportedly showing Indian deportees being led into a military plane in handcuffs and legs in chains. “The USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport,” Banks said in a post on X. “If you cross illegally, you will be removed,” he said in the post. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in New Delhi said enforcing immigration laws was “critically important” to the security and public safety of the United States. “It is the policy of the US to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,” he added. Migration has been among the key issues since Trump assumed office, and is expected to come up during Modi’s visit to US. — Agencies Sirsa, February 6 Gaganpreet Singh (24) of Digoh village in Fatehabad, Haryana, reunited with his family in the early hours of Thursday after being deported from the US. His parents welcomed him with tears, holding him tightly after his long and arduous journey home. Gaganpreet’s return was marked by a gruelling 32hour ordeal as he made his way from the US to Amritsar. “There were 104 persons on the flight back to India, which left at 4 am on February 2. During the journey, we were offloaded twice for six hours before flying continuously for over 12 hours,” he recounted. The most harrowing part of the journey was being handcuffed throughout the flight. “We had to eat with our hands tied. The meals served included bread, chicken, fish and rice,” he said. While US officials were polite, the conditions felt prison-like, as deportees were not allowed to stand and their phones were confiscated before they left the detention centre. Each deportee’s bag was marked with identification stickers for easy processing. Gagan- The police with Gaganpreet’s family members at Digoh village. DIGOH — ‘MINI CANADA’ OF HARYANA Digoh, a village often referred to as “mini Canada”, stands out for its deep connection with countries like Canada, the US and Australia. With over 200 of its 725 eligible voters living abroad, the village exudes prosperity, showcasing grand homes, luxury cars and modern amenities that mirror an urban landscape. preet’s journey to the US was arranged by an agent for Rs 16.5 lakh. His route took him from France to Spain, before attempting to cross the US border on January 22. However, he was apprehended immediately by the US authorities and placed in a detention centre until his deportation on February 2. Prior to this, Gaganpreet had gone to the UK on a study visa Harrowing passage to US and back, Jaspal stares at ~35L debt Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Fatehgarh Churian, Feb 6 Life has come to nought for Gurdaspur resident Jaspal Singh, whose journey to the “land of dreams” and back has been nothing short of harrowing — having to traverse the treacherous “Dunki” route, only to be sent back in a flight, shackled, with a mountain of debt to repay. Jaspal, 36, who was deported after being caught by the US Customs and Border Protection agency for entering the country illegally, arrived home last night even as his family wondered how they would repay the Rs 35 lakh they had taken at an exorbitant rate of interest (36%) from a private money lender to send him Jaspal Singh Given biscuits, bananas, wafers on flight abroad. For Jaspal’s mother, it was a relief to see her son back. At the same time, she was worried about her debt-ridden family’s future. Jaspal recalled entering the US on January 24 after an arduous journey through the jungles of Panama. He was captured the same day by the agency officials and taken to a detention centre. Later, he was handcuffed and brought to the airport from where he was made to board the Amritsar-bound plane. On board, Jaspal said they were given some biscuits, bananas, potato wafers and soft drinks. Jaspal was sent to the UK by a travel agent two years ago, with the promise of taking him to the US. This, however, never happened. In July last year, Jaspal made it to Panama and stayed in a city for six months. In January, he traversed the Panama rainforest along with other Punjabi youths. Jaspal lost his father while he was away. “It is the greatest loss. It is good to be home, but how will I repay the debt. And who will bring back my father?” he lamented. Congress to blame for sluggish growth in past: PMModi in RS Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 6 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the economic policies of the erstwhile Congress governments. He said due to the wrong policies of the Congress, India’s sluggish growth rate came to be known as “Hindu rate of growth” in the past. Replying to the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks on the President’s Address, the PM said, “The image of the Hindus was tarnished owing to the wrong policies of the Congress as the phrase ‘Hindu growth rate’ was coined to describe India’s slow GDP growth then.” The Congress policies were not only detrimental to the economy but also identified a PM Narendra Modi speaks in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. PTI community with economic stagnation, he said. The PM said the licence-permit raj prevailing during the Congress regimes in the past was against the grain of Indians who are traditionally an enterprising people and believe in unshackling of business. “The licence-permit raj crippled India’s progress. Bribery was rampant,” the PM said. The BJP-led NDA government had worked towards dismantling these outdated systems to boost business opportunities and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, Modi said. “Sabka ka saath, sabka vikas should be a common goal, but to expect that from the Congress is a big mistake. continued on page 9 in August 2022, where he juggled his studies with jobs at Pizza Hut and in a kitchen. However, financial difficulties forced him to drop out of the university and seek alternative routes to the US via agents. Following his return to India, Gaganpreet and 32 other deportees from Haryana were processed at the Amritsar airport, after which they continued on page 9 Mirage fighter jet crashes in MP’s Shivpuri, pilots safe GWALIOR: A Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft of the IAF crashed in an agriculture field in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district on Thursday after developing a snag, a defence spokesperson said. Both pilots ejected safely and were being airlifted to Gwalior by a helicopter, he said. The twin-seater trainer aircraft caught fire after crashing in an agriculture field near Barheta Sani village at around 2.40 pm. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident, he added. — PTI HERITAGE DESTROYED: B’DESH PROTESTERS RAZE MUJIBUR’S HOUSE Thousands of protesters demolished and set fire to the home of Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Witnesses said arsonists, armed with sticks and hammers and other tools, used an excavator and a crane to demolish the building. Rajnath, Hegseth speak on phone, agree to boost ties New Delhi, February 6 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Pete Hegseth today spoke on the phone and agreed to work on a 10-year comprehensive framework (2025-35) to bolster the India-US defence partnership, especially in the spheres of intelligence, logistics, operational and industrial engagement. A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said continued on page 9 I-Traidson35sites ofMLA RanaGurjeet Jalandhar: The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted raids at over 35 locations linked to Kapurthala Congress MLA and former minister Rana Gurjeet Singh. The raids started at 6 am at various locations in Punjab, Chandigarh, UP and Uttarakhand. INSIDE His daughter and deposed PM Sheikh Hasina had transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father’s legacy. “They can demolish a building, but not the history. History takes its revenge,” she said after the incident. INSIDE J&K truck driver ‘fails’ to stop at checkpost, killed in Army firing Adil Akhzer Srinagar, February 6 A truck driver was killed in Army firing when he allegedly refused to stop his vehicle at a checkpost in Baramulla district “despite repeated warnings”, officials said on Thursday. The incident drew widespread condemnation from political parties in the Valley. The police have registered an FIR and begun investigation. According to Army officials, the incident took place at Chunad village on the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway. Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said based on a specific intelligence input about movement of terrorists, a checkpost was established by security forces on Wednesday. “One speeding civil truck was spotted. When challenged, the truck driver didn’t stop despite repeated c m y b Kashmir parties slam incident warnings. He instead accelerated while crossing the checkpost,” the Army said. It said the troops pursued the vehicle for over 23 km. “Shots were fired aiming at tyres to deflate which forced the vehicle to halt at Sangrama Chowk,” said the Army, adding that the injured driver was immediately taken to Government Medical College (GMC), Baramulla, where he was declared dead. “The fully-loaded truck has been sent to the nearest police station. A detailed search of the truck in police custody is underway and investigation of antecedents of the suspect is in progress,” the Army said. Sources said the truck driver had been identified as Waseem Ahmad, a resident of Sopore. After issuing a similar statement, the police said a case had been registered. “A post-mortem examination has been initiated to ascertain the cause of death,” it said. A doctor at the GMC told The Tribune that the deceased had one bullet injury and was declared “brought dead” by duty doctors. Police sources said no “adverse” record of the driver had come to the fore so far in the ongoing investigation. Meanwhile, family members of the driver have demanded an investigation into the incident. “He had no links with militancy, his record was clean… we want a fair investigation,” a family member said, adding that the driver had left home around 10 pm on Wednesday with a fruit-laden truck for Kolkata. continued on page 9 Chandrayaan-4 launch in 2027, to bring moon rocks NEW DELHI: India will launch the Chandrayaan-4 mission to bring back samples of moon rocks to the Earth in 2027, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said. Chandrayaan-4 will involve at least two separate launches of the heavylift LVM-3 rocket that will carry five different components of the mission which will be assembled in orbit. “The mission aims at collecting samples from the moon's surface and bring these back to the Earth,” he said. — PTI Woman who named Badoli in rape case booked for extortion PANCHKULA: The police have booked six persons, including a woman who had previously accused state BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli and singer Jai Bhagwan, alias Rocky Mittal, of rape, in connection with an alleged honey trapping and extortion case. The police said two of the accused had been arrested and sent to two-day police custody. Mittal alleged the accused threatened to implicate them in a false case unless they paid ~50 lakh. INSIDE