A total of eight persons of Gujarati domicile arrived at Ahmedabad domestic airport on a private flight on Sunday morning. The eight were part of 116 Indians deported by US authorities who arrived at Amritsar around 11.30pm on Saturday. They were escorted primarily to two districts—Mehsana and Gandhinagar—by respective police teams in special vehicles as they were not allowed to stop or interact with media at the airport. Almost all the persons came out of the arrival gate wearing masks and hoodies and avoided any contact with media or local authorities. The present police authorities cited security and debriefing as reasons for the action. Earlier, 33 from the state arrived at the city airport on February 6 after the deportation of 104 persons of Indian origin. However, the number of Gujaratis on the flight is not yet known, said police authorities. It is notable that the 33 who returned earlier have remained reticent and, barring a few, have not talked to media or authorities. Several of them have left home temporarily to avoid social scrutiny, said sources.
