Chandigarh, February 17: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Sunday strongly condemned US authorities for allegedly not allowing Sikh deportees, who were part of the second batch of illegal Indian immigrants brought from America, to wear their turbans. The SGPC statement came after some visuals appeared on social media showing Sikh deportees without turbans while completing their immigration formalities at the Amritsar airport.

A US military aircraft carrying 116 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport late Saturday night, with one deportee claiming they were handcuffed with their legs chained during the journey. The fresh batch of deportees included 65 immigrants from Punjab, 33 from Haryana and eight from Gujarat. US Deportation: Women, Children in 2nd Batch of Deportees From US on Amritsar Bound Plane ‘Not Restrained During Flight’, Say Sources.

Sikhs Deportees Not Allowed To Wear Turban?

SGPC officials, who were deputed for providing 'langar' and bus service for deportees on Saturday night at the airport, provided 'dastar' (turban) to Sikh deportees. One of the Sikh deportees also claimed that when they landed at the Amritsar airport, they were not wearing turbans. He said that when they entered the US illegally, they were asked to remove their turbans.

SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal condemned the US authorities for allegedly not allowing them to wear their turbans. It is a matter of regret that deportees were brought in shackles and Sikh deportees were not wearing turbans, he said. Grewal said the SGPC will soon raise the issue with the US authorities. "Turban is the part of a Sikh," he said. Illegal Indian Migrants Deported by US: 2 Brothers Deported From US Arrested in Punjab on Murder Charges.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia too condemned the US authorities for allegedly sending Sikh deportees without turbans. He also urged the Ministry of External Affairs to immediately take up the matter with the US authorities so that such an incident is never repeated in future.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)