INDIA – India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has told parliament the government is working with the US to ensure Indian citizens are not mistreated while being deported. His statement came a day after a US military flight brought back 104 Indians accused of entering the US illegally. One of the deportees told the BBC they had been handcuffed throughout the 40-hour flight, sparking criticism. But Jaishankar said he had been told by the US that women and children were not restrained. Deportation flights to India had been taking place for several years and US procedures allowed for the use of restraints, he added. Deportation in the US is organised and executed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “We have been informed by ICE that women and children are not restrained,” Jaishankar said. He added that according to ICE, the needs of deportees during transit, including for food and medical attention, were attended to and deportees could be unrestrained during bathroom breaks. “There has been no change from past procedure,” he added.However Jaspal Singh, one of the deportees on the flight that landed in Amritsar city in the state of Punjab on Wednesday, told BBC Punjabi that he was shackled throughout the flight. (BBC)