Deportation row: SGPC slams US authorities as Sikh deportees seen without turban
PTC News Desk: The deportation row continues to escalate over alleged inhumane treatment with the deportees. As the row intensifies, top Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee has launched protest against US authorities for not allowing Sikh deportees to wear turbans.
A purported video showing Sikh deportees from the US without turbans (dastar) while they were completing their immigration formalities at the Amritsar airport went viral on social media which drew sharp condemnation from SGPC.
One of the Sikh deportees, who was among the 116 illegal Indian immigrants who landed in Amritsar on a US military aircraft on February 15, claimed they were not wearing turbans. He also said they were asked to remove their turbans when they entered the US illegally.
The video shows Sikh men sitting on the floor at Amritsar airport upon their arrival without turbans. The SGPC issued strong rebuke to US authorities for prohibiting Sikh deportees to wear turbans, which is a mark of identity.
SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal condemned the US officials and said, "It is a matter of regret that deportees were brought in shackles and Sikh deportees were not wearing turbans."
One of the deportees also claimed they were in shackles during their journey from the US to India, a concern raised by the Opposition parties.
- PTC NEWS
