AMRITSAR: A third American aircraft ferrying 112 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Punjab's Amritsar at 10.05pm on Sunday, taking the number of arrivals over the weekend to 228 and the total number of people sent back to India since the start of the current deportation exercise on February 5 to 332.
The latest batch comprised 44 natives of Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 31 of Punjab, two from UP, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, sources said. There was no official confirmation of the break-up.
The US military plane that landed in Amritsar Saturday night brought back 116 deportees, 65 of them from Punjab.
After Punjab govt's criticism of Haryana sending jail vans to transport the deportees back to their native places, the BJP-led govt sent a Volvo bus to pick up the new arrivals. No member of the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab govt was at the airport Sunday night, unlike the previous two occasions. There were no family members of the returnees either. Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal received the first batch on Feb 5. He was joined by cabinet colleague Harbhajan Singh ETO this Saturday, ahead of the second flight's arrival.

Women and kids spared shackles in 2nd flight from US
The February 5 flight brought 104 deportees, all of them handcuffed and shackled. The second flight, carrying 116 deportees, had only the men in restraints. Women and children were spared the shackles, sources said. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann pleaded for better treatment of deportees. He asked Centre to have the second flight diverted to some other airport, but the only concession given was the deportees' arrival at the main terminal instead of the one for cargo.