Chandigarh, February 17 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): At least 24 Sikh deportees were made to remove their turbans by the US authorities before sending them back to India on a military plane, according to sources.
They were part of a second batch of Indians that landed at the Amritsar airport on Saturday night.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami condemned the US authorities for being “insensitive” to the community’s religious sentiments.
A source said the Sikh deportees were provided with a cloth to cover their head by SGPC members on their arrival at the airport after they were seen without turbans while finishing immigration-related paper work.
SGPC secretary Partap Singh said the deportees were treated as if they were “extremists or criminals”.
“By handcuffing and chaining the deportees, the US authorities not only violated their fundamental rights but also hurt their religious sentiments by removing their turbans. We strongly condemn it. The deportees were not criminals. they were victims and needed to be consoled,” he said.
“We demand the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to take up the issue with his US counterpart, keeping in view the Sikh sentiments,” he added.
SGPC’s former general secretary Gurcharan Singh Garewal also condemned it.
‘PM should have spoken to Trump during his US visit’
“Why didn’t our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a US tour, register a protest with US President Donald Trump when the Sikh deportees were subjected to such a inhuman treatment?” he asked.
Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and his Cabinet colleague Harbhajan Singh were at the airport to receive the deportees.
During an interaction, the Sikh deportees told Dhaliwal that they were asked to remove their turbans and handcuffed by the US authorities. The deportees told the minister that their handcuffs were removed just minutes before the plane’s landing, a source said.
SGPC staff member Sandeep Singh said they were prepared to assist the deportees as another flight with expatriates was expected land at the airport on Sunday night.
He said the SGPC has made arrangements for “langar” and providing the deportees accommodation for night stay at the sarais in the Golden Temple complex.
“We would also provide them transport facilities for their journey back home, if required,” he said.
Summary: Reports claim Sikh deportees were made to remove turbans before boarding a U.S. flight to India, sparking concerns. India is addressing the issue.