New Jersey: A disturbing incident at a US airport has sparked calls for urgent intervention from Indian authorities after a visibly distressed Indian teenager was reportedly found handcuffed and pinned to the floor after being deported at the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The situation was flagged by fellow passenger Kunal Jain, who took to social media to highlight the ordeal.
Sharing a video of the boy on X (formerly Twitter), Jain wrote, "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."
“This poor kid’s parent won’t know what’s happening to him... He was to be boarded last night in the same flight with me but he never got boarded. Someone needs to find out what’s going on with him at New Jersey authorities. I found him disoriented," he added.
The incident reportedly occurred on the night of June 7, when the teenager was scheduled to board a flight but was inexplicably left behind. In the video, the boy appears lost and unable to communicate clearly, raising concerns about his safety and well-being.
Have a look at Jain's post here:
In one of the videos shared from the scene, the teenager could be heard speaking in Haryanvi. "Main pagal nahin hoon, ye log mujhe pagal saabit karne mein lage huye hain (I'm not crazy, these people are trying to prove that I am mentally unstable)," Jain quoted him as saying in his post.
Jain also tagged the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in his post, urging them to step in and determine the boy’s whereabouts and legal status. As of now, no official statement has been issued by either the embassy or the Ministry of External Affairs.
The nature of the boy’s travel, his age, and whether he was unaccompanied remain unclear. It is also not known why he was unable to board the flight or if immigration or airport authorities intervened.
The video of the Indian teenager has since gone viral on social media, with netizens demanding diplomatic intervention and better safeguards for Indian minors travelling abroad.
