American journalist Angad Singh was deported to New York soon after he landed in Delhi on the night of Wednesday, August 24, his mother claimed in a Facebook post. Singh, who produces documentaries for Vice News with a focus on Asia, was on a personal visit to India, his mother Gurmeet Kaur said. “My son, an American citizen who travelled 18 hours to Delhi to visit us in Punjab, was deported. Put in the next flight back to New York,” Kaur said. Singh has produced a series of documentaries on the COVID-19 pandemic in India as also on the farmers' protests on the borders of the national capital against the now-repealed three farm laws.
According to Indian Express, Singh’s family alleged that he was deported from the Delhi airport after he landed around 8.30 pm on Wednesday. They reportedly said that he was sent back to the US within three hours, and no reason was given by authorities for this. They said that Singh had come to India for a family reunion. Singh's coverage of the deadly Delta wave of the coronavirus pandemic last year earned him an Emmy nomination. There was no immediate official comment on Singh's deportation.
“They did not give a reason. But we know it is his award winning journalism that scares them. It is the stories he did and the stories he is capable of. It is the love for his Motherland that they can't stand. It is the cutting edge reporting of Vice News that gets to them,” Kaur claimed. Her Facebook post also said, “It’s not easy to be a Sikh, a Gursikh on top, a journalist, a warrior of truth and justice. Speaking truth has a price. We must pay it,” she said.
With PTI inputs