 "Handcuffed, pinned to floor: The row over Indian student’s ordeal at US airport")
A shocking video of an Indian man being handcuffed and held down by officials at Newark Airport in New Jersey has gone viral on social media.
The incident came to light after Kunal Jain, an Indian-American entrepreneur, posted the video on social media .
He called the way the Indian ‘student’ was treated “deeply inhumane” and described it as a “human tragedy”.
Now, the Indian Embassy in New York has responded, saying that they had seen social media posts about an Indian national facing trouble at Newark Liberty International Airport.
What happened during the incident? Do we know why he was being treated the way the video shows? What did the witness, Kunal, say about it? And how did the Indian consulate in New York respond?
Let’s get you the answers to these questions and more.
What happened?
The viral video shows an Indian student being handcuffed and pinned down by officials at a US airport.
Kunal Jain posted a photo of the student on X, saying he was being deported from Newark Airport last night. According to him, the student was in tears and was treated like a criminal by the authorities.
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. @IndianEmbassyUS #immigrationraids pic.twitter.com/0cINhd0xU1
— Kunal Jain (@SONOFINDIA) June 8, 2025
“As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy,” Jain wrote on X.
Jain, who is the President of HealthBots AI, said the student spoke in Haryanvi.
“I could recognise his accent where he was saying ‘I’m not insane, these people are trying to make me look insane’,” he added.
Jain expressed concern over the situation, saying the student was “crying, treated like a criminal” and had come to the US “chasing dreams, not causing harm”.
He also said that similar cases have been happening recently.
“These children get their visas and get on a flight in the morning. For some reason, they are unable to explain the reason for their visit to the 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 more such cases in the last few days,” he wrote.
He urged the Indian Embassy in the US to look into the incident and help the student. He also tagged the Indian Embassy and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in his post.
In an article for The New Indian Express, Jain recalled that the man, who appeared to be a student, said in Hindi, “Main pagal nahi hoon… yeh log mujhe pagal sabit karna chahte hain” (“I’m not mad… they’re trying to prove I’m mentally unstable”).
This poor kids parent won’t know what’s happening to him. @IndianEmbassyUS @DrSJaishankar 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. pic.twitter.com/kpMiy9Trsp
— Kunal Jain (@SONOFINDIA) June 8, 2025
He added that the man looked frightened and confused, and his desperate plea to be understood was deeply disturbing.
What was the reason? Here’s what the witness said
In a conversation with CNN-News18, Jain said that even terrorists are not treated publicly like that in the United States.
He said, “I remember exactly, a pilot came out and said he couldn’t take the risk of bringing this boy onto the plane because he might be a threat to other passengers. Now think about it, all of this was happening in his head… I mean, I felt so bad.”
#BreakingNews | Indian Student Handcuffed, Pinned at Newark Airport; Video Shared by Kunal Jain Sparks Outrage
— News18 (@CNNnews18) June 10, 2025
Kunal Jain (The Man Who Shot The Video) Speaks Exclusively To CNN-News18's @GrihaAtul #UnitedStates #deportation #india #indian #america #criminal #uspolice pic.twitter.com/hsohNUq4zU
Regarding a possible reason why the security forces acted the way they did, Kunal said they believed the student was agitated. “So they felt that in order to control him, they had to force him down, pin him to the ground. My only point is that there were enough Indians there. They could have called the Indian embassy, they could have provided legal help, they could have brought in a counsellor, or even a linguistic counsellor who could speak his language.”
He further said, “Nowadays, if you don’t have a visa, they don’t allow you in. So he was allowed at the entry, but probably interviewed there.”
After the entire incident, he said, “I boarded the plane and asked one of the hostesses. She told me, ‘We see three to four such cases every day.’”
“If people do not retaliate or become violent, then they are sent back to India. But if, for any reason, they become aggressive, this is what happens,” he said.
ALSO READ | Why Trump is offering $1,000 to migrants to 'self-deport' from US
How Indian Embassy reacted to the incident
The Indian Consulate in New York responded to the incident after the video and posts gained attention online. The consulate confirmed that they had reached out to local authorities.
“We have come across social media posts claiming that an Indian national is facing difficulties at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are in touch with local authorities in this regard,” the Consulate General of India in New York posted on X.
We have come across social media posts claiming that an Indian national is facing difficulties at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are in touch with local authorities in this regard.
— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) June 9, 2025
The Consulate remains ever committed for the welfare of Indian Nationals.@MEAIndia…
“The Consulate remains ever committed for the welfare of Indian Nationals.”
Trump administration’s crackdown on international students
This incident comes at a time when the US government has stepped up its action against international students , with many visas being cancelled without warning.
The reasons behind the deportations have differed, from joining pro-Palestine protests to minor traffic offences, leaving many students caught in legal trouble and uncertainty.
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, since Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the US has deported around 1,080 Indian nationals.
The latest case has also reminded many of earlier deportations that caused public outrage. In February, a video released by the US Border Patrol showed over 100 Indians being sent back, with their hands cuffed and legs chained.
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