Indian student handcuffed, pinned like criminal at US airport: witness
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New Delhi: A massive outrage have broken out after an Indian student was filmed handcuffed and pinned to the ground at the Newark Airport in New Jersey in US.
The video captured by an Indian-American entrepreneur, Kunal Jain, who witnessed the horrific incident, showed officers treating the student like a criminal.
The student was meted out the inhuman treatment before he was deported to India.
At least four officials held him down on the floor with two of them kneeling on his back as they tied his legs and hands.
Witnessing this horrendous incident, heartbroken, Jain wrote on X calling upon the Indian Embassy in the US to step into probe and help the student.
Jain wrote: ‘I witnessed a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night - handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing dreams, not causing harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy.’
After the video got widely circulated, drawing its attention, the Indian Embassy in New York said ‘We are in touch with local authorities in this regard. The Consulate remains ever committed for the welfare of Indian Nationals.’
Later Jain told NDTV that even terrorists would not have faced such a treatment.
Jain added that none of the 50 people who were watching the incident dared questioning the officials.
‘The authorities were saying that they did not understand Hindi, and he was speaking in a Haryanvi language. I thought probably I can help out,’ Jain said.
When he went over, offering help, police not only did they not allow him to engage but called in more officers.
Jain said that the officers asked the student to ‘shut down’ when he said in his native tongue ‘I'm not mad, they are trying to make me mad, prove that I'm mad’.
According to Jain something must have occurred at the port of entry that left the student disoriented hence he was speaking Hindi, not because he did not understand English.
‘The immigration officers may have found that he is disoriented, and that's why they denied his visa. But in most cases, what they do is they keep the person's dignity intact,’ Jain reportedly said.
The incident gained attention as it has taken place months after hundreds of undocumented Indians were deported to India in the midst of US President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.
