11 Punjabis deported from Australia to land in Delhi; Punjab Police await arrival
(Representational image)
At least 11 people hailing from Punjab, who were deported by Australia, will land at the Delhi international airport on Thursday. A team of Punjab Police officials has reached the national capital to receive them. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had said on Wednesday that Australia was deporting 15 Indians, among whom a majority were from Punjab, and the rest from Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Haryana.According to the district-wise list of the deportees accessed by The Indian Express, of the 11 deportees from Punjab, nine are from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Khanna, Moga, Nawanshahr, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Ropar. One among the 11 is a woman. A senior Punjab Police officer said that the addresses of two others were still being verified. “Things will be clearer once they are handed over to us. These districts are based on the addresses mentioned in their documents. We are yet to verify their current addresses,” said the officer.
Mann had also revealed in a press conference in Chandigarh on Wednesday that many of these deportees had criminal cases registered against them in Australia. “But they are our own children, and we will receive them at the airport while ensuring support for their rehabilitation and future livelihood,” he had said. Highlighting the issue of fraudulent travel agents, Mann had said, “Many innocent people fall into the trap of dubious travel agents who promise them the moon and send them abroad. These people leave with high hopes but are eventually deported. Our government is making arrangements for employment so that no one is forced to go abroad in search of jobs.”
Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in Ludhiana (Punjab). She is widely recognized for her human-interest storytelling and in-depth investigative reporting on social and political issues in the region.
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