Paramjit Singh, aka Saurav, set off from his native village of Chandiwala in Punjab’s Ferozepur on December 17 last year. The 23-year-old’s family had sold two acres and taken a loan to raise the Rs 45 lakh he needed to pay an immigration agent for illegal passage to US. Saurav and many other illegal immigrants were made to walk from Panama, passing through jungles, to reach Mexico City. On Feb 13, all the deportees were shackled and handcuffed before being told they were being shifted to another place. Instead, they were taken to a military plane and informed that they wereBeing deported to India. \”I was hoping to somehow reach the US, and life would finally be easy,\” said Saurav. \”The last 40 days were the toughest. I saw how a life choice you make can become your biggest enemy,\” he said. The money is gone, and his illusions lie shattered, Saurav said. He was among the 116 illegal Indian immigrants on the second deportation flight from an American city to Amritsar in 10 days.
