The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has formally raised concerns with the United States Embassy in New Delhi after videos circulating on social media appeared to show a young Indian man being pinned down and handcuffed by law enforcement officers at Newark airport.
The videos, originally posted on X by Kunal Jain — an Indian-American entrepreneur show an unidentified individual being restrained by personnel from the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), the agency that oversees transit hubs across New York and New Jersey. Jain had tagged both the Indian Embassy in Washington and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in his posts.
On June 11, two days after the videos emerged, the MEA reported a new update: the Indian Consulate in New York had determined that the young man hails from Haryana and had entered the United States without a valid visa. He was being deported under a court order.
According to Jain’s posts, the man who reportedly was scheduled to board the same flight to New Delhi could be heard speaking in Hindi with a Haryanvi accent, claiming he was not “insane”, even though officials appeared to treat him as such. Jain wrote that the “pilot stepped out, saw the situation and refused to allow [him] to board.”
Images posted by Jain showed officers wearing PAPD uniforms as they restrained the individual on the ground.
Meanwhile, the incident sparked political reactions back in India. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, while resharing the video, criticised the Modi administration for allegedly failing to safeguard the dignity of Indian citizens abroad. Ramesh remarked on X that the Modi government was “failing to protect the honour of India and Indians.”
He also referenced claims made by former US President Donald Trump regarding a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a brief military standoff on May 10, adding, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not been able to summon the courage to speak either on the ceasefire or on the atrocities being perpetrated against Indians in the US.”
Ramesh urged the Prime Minister to take up the issue directly with the American administration, saying Modi should seek intervention from the US leadership over “the atrocities happening against Indians and the fear that has gripped lakhs of Indian students in America.”
The airport episode unfolds amid rising anxieties among international students, including Indian nationals in the US, who have recently seen their student visas revoked under the Trump administration’s enforcement policies. Some affected students have already taken legal action to challenge the visa cancellations.
Previously, the MEA had assured support to Indian students encountering such difficulties, stating that Indian nationals abroad must adhere to the local laws of their host countries.
According to The Indian Express, India’s diplomatic missions in Washington and New York have also been actively engaging with American officials to determine the full circumstances of the incident. “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,” IE reported quoting MEA sources.
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