Chandigarh: Daljit Singh, who was among the deportees who reached Amritsar from the US on Saturday night, on Sunday claimed they were handcuffed with their legs chained during the journey.
"Our legs were chained and hands were also cuffed," Singh told reporters in Hoshiarpur.
Singh, a native of Kurala Kalan village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, was among 116 illegal Indian immigrants who were brought back in a US aircraft that landed at the Amritsar airport on Saturday night.
Replying to a question, Singh said he was taken through the 'donkey route' -- an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter the US.
Singh's wife Kamalpreet Kaur alleged that her husband was deceived by a travel agent who promised him a direct flight to the US but instead took him via the donkey route.
She said a man from their village had arranged for a travel agent to facilitate Singh's journey. The agent assured to take him to the US legally but later he was taken through multiple locations, raising suspicions about the legitimacy of his travel.
The C-17 aircraft that landed around 11.35 pm on Saturday was the second batch of Indians to be deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of its crackdown on illegal immigrants.