The government on Wednesday rejected claims that illegal Indian migrants who were deported from the US were handcuffed, and their legs were chained. The fact-check department of the government mentioned that the image is of the illegal immigrants who were deported to Guatemala.
The claims were made as a US military plane carrying 104 deported Indians landed in Amrtisar on Wednesday.
“A fake image is being shared on social media by many accounts with a claim that illegal Indian migrants have been handcuffed and their legs chained while being deported by the US. The image being shared in these posts does not pertain to Indians. Instead it shows those deported to Guatemala,” the government’s fact-check department said on X.
The social media post showed men with their hands cuffed and feet chained. Several people on the internet shared the photo, claiming that the men seen in the photo are Indian.
Prithviraj Sathe, a Congress leader, also tweeted the photo. He claimed, “Over 200 Indians deported from the US in the most inhumane way – handcuffed, leg-chained, treated like criminals. One toilet for a long-haul flight!”
He tagged Dr S Jaishankar in the post and asked, “Couldn’t Modi government at least arrange dignified transport for its own citizens? Global ‘Vishwaguru’ or global shame?”
The government, however, fact-checked the claims.
The image in question was shared by the Associated Press a few days ago on its Instagram account.
“A US Air Force jet with migrants bound at their wrists and ankles departed Texas for Guatemala on Thursday, carrying 80 deportees in another deportation flight that reflects a growing role for the armed forces in helping enforce immigration laws,” the long caption to the post read.