276 back from France, questioned on arrival

Two hundred and seventy-six Indians, who were headed to Nicaragua and stopped in France over fears of human trafficking, landed in a charter A340 Airbus aircraft at Mumbai airport early on Tuesday after being detained at Vatry airport near Paris for four days.

- Manish K Pathak, Ravindra Vasudeva, Maulik Pathak

The incident, which sparked questions over illegal immigration through a circuitous "donkey route" that takes people across continents before smuggling them into the US, is being investigated by central immigration authorities and police across at least two states, and the returning Indians were questioned at the airport on arrival.

They were processed through a dedicated corridor created for them, and sent home after filling necessary paperwork over about five hours.

Of the 303 people who were on board the Legend Airlines charter flight, 25 including two minors sought asylum in France, and two people were held by French authorities for allegedly being the facilitators of illegal immigration. These two were produced before a judge and placed on assisted witness status, AP reported.

The French authorities were initially investigating a potential violation of immigration laws, but ceased their inquiry into possible human trafficking, according to an official tracking the passengers.

Officials said that of the 276 who returned, about two-thirds were from Punjab, about 25% from Gujarat, and the remaining from different Indian states.

"Most of those who were deported back are in their mid20s or early 30s and had a valid Nicaragua visa," a Punjab Police official aware of the details said.

The passenger list accessed by HT showed that around 150 passengers were in their mid-20s, and around 70 in their 30s. The others were spread across different age groups.