Indian Man Handcuffed, pinned to floor at US airport, Indian Embassy responds
New Jersey : Videos of an Indian student being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by authorities at the Newark Airport in New Jersey before he was deported have gone viral, triggering an outrage on social media. The video, first captured by a witness and an Indian-American entrepreneur, Kunal Jain, showed the authorities treating the student like a criminal.
The disturbing video shows the student pinned to the ground as at least four officials held him down, with two of them keeping their knees on his back. They had tied the students’s legs and hands.
The witness posted the horrific video of the student being harassed on the social media platform stating ” I witnessed a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night – handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing dreams, not causing harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy.There were about 50 people around, but nobody dared to say anything. The reason I think he was pinned down is that he was a little violent, and he was feeling disoriented. I don’t know why he was disoriented. The authorities were saying that they did not understand Hindi, and he was speaking in a Haryanvi language. I thought probably I can help out. I went there, asked a police officer if I could help them understand what he was saying. But he didn’t allow me to do so”.
A day later, the Indian Embassy in New York addressed the incident, saying they have across social media posts claiming that an Indian national faced difficulties at the Newark Liberty International Airport. “We are in touch with local authorities in this regard. The Consulate remains ever committed for the welfare of Indian Nationals,” it said.
According to the witness, the officers were telling the student to “shut down”, while the Indian man was yelling, “Mai pagal nahi hu, yeh mujhe pagal bana rahe hai. Mai pagal nahi hu, yeh mujhe pagal sabit kar rahe hai (I’m not mad, they are trying to make me mad, prove that I’m mad).