Indian Student Handcuffed At Newark Airport: MEA Raises Matter With US Embassy

Following a social media post claiming that an Indian national was handcuffed and pinned down at Newark Airport in the US, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has officially raised the matter with the US Embassy in New Delhi, news agency ANI reported.

“Reference a social media post claiming that an Indian national was detained at Newark Airport in New Jersey. The Ministry has formally raised the matter with the US Embassy in New Delhi. Our Embassy in Washington DC and the Indian Consulate in New York have also been in touch with the US authorities to ascertain the details,” ANI reported citing sources.

However, MEA sources said they have not received any details about the incident or the circumstances under which the individual was restrained.

“We have so far have not received any details about the incident or the circumstances under which he was restrained, the flight he had to board or boarded and his final destination. We continue to follow up on the matter,” ANI quoted its sources as saying.

Kunal Jain, an Indian-American entrepreneur, shared videos and pictures on X, claiming that an Indian student was handcuffed and deported from Newark Airport. In the videos, the student can be seen handcuffed and pinned to the ground. He said the student was “treated like a criminal.”

“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,” he wrote on X.

He further claimed that the student was supposed to board the same flight as him but never did.

“This poor kid’s parents won’t know what’s happening to him. @IndianEmbassyUS @DrSJaishankar — he was to be boarded last night on the same flight as me, but he never got on. Someone needs to find out what’s going on with him at New Jersey authorities. I found him disoriented,” Jain added.

According to Jain, the student, who spoke in Haryanvi, said that he was not mentally ill but that authorities were trying to prove him mad.

“These children get their visas and board flights in the morning. For some reason, they are unable to explain the purpose of their visit to immigration authorities and are sent back on the evening flight, tied up like criminals. Every day, 3–4 such cases are happening. There have been several similar incidents in recent days,” he said.