Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 27: In a major deportation drive, the United States has sent back 54 youths from Haryana for allegedly entering the country through the illegal ‘Donkey Route’, police said on Sunday. The deportees arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), Terminal 3, on Flight OAE-4767, where they were handed over to their families.
According to the police, the deported individuals hail from various districts of Haryana — 16 from Karnal, 15 from Kaithal, 5 from Ambala, 4 each from Yamuna Nagar and Kurukshetra, 3 from Jind, 2 from Sonipat, and one each from Panchkula, Panipat, Rohtak, and Fatehabad. Most of them are aged between 25 and 40 years.
Karnal DSP Sandeep Kumar said the deportees had entered the US through the “donkey route,” a term used for illegal human trafficking networks that smuggle people across borders. “About 16 individuals from Karnal were deported today. They had gone to the US through the donkey route. We have handed them over to their families, and so far, no complaints regarding any agent have been received,” he said.
The DSP also urged citizens to avoid illegal means of immigration, warning that such methods lead to serious legal and safety consequences. Police have initiated an investigation to verify the backgrounds and possible criminal records of the deported individuals.
The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration since returning to office in January, resulting in a spike in deportations of individuals who violated immigration laws or lacked valid residency documents.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Haryana Special Task Force (STF) arrested Lakhwinder Singh alias Lakha, a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, following his deportation from the United States.
According to an official release, Lakha, a resident of Titram village in Kaithal district, had been operating from the US since 2022 under the direction of Bishnoi’s brother, Anmol Bishnoi, and was involved in several extortion and firing cases across Haryana and Punjab.
The Haryana STF had issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) in 2023 and a Red Corner Notice (RCN) in 2024 against him. After nearly a year of coordination with national and international agencies, his legal deportation was successfully executed, officials confirmed.
Authorities said Lakhwinder Singh faces multiple criminal charges in Sonipat, Rohtak, Yamuna Nagar, Kaithal, and Ambala. His arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the state’s ongoing crackdown on organised crime networks.