Khushbu Patel, a 29-year-old woman from Luna village in Vadodara district, Gujarat, was reunited with her family on Thursday after being deported from the United States. Her emotional father, Jayantibhai Patel, could not hold back his tears upon seeing his daughter return home safely after a harrowing journey.

Khushbu was one of the 104 Indian nationals who were deported for illegal immigration. She had travelled to the US on a tourist visa and was reportedly handcuffed during the flight from the US to Amritsar, where the deportees arrived on Wednesday aboard a US military aircraft. The following morning, a plane carrying Khushbu and 32 other deportees flew from Amritsar to Ahmedabad, where they were transported to their native villages in police vehicles.

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After she arrived in Gujarat, Khushbu was first taken to the Padra police station for preliminary questioning. She was later brought home to Luna, her brother Varun confirmed, although she did not speak to the media due to exhaustion from the 36-hour journey.

Speaking to reporters, Varun Patel explained, "She was deported for not having some documents. We don't know what route she had taken to reach the US. She is not in a position to speak now because of the 36-hour journey."

Khushbu's father, Jayantibhai, expressed immense relief upon his daughter's return, stating, "I was under a lot of stress. Now, I am so happy she is back safely. I don't know how she ended up in the US or what happened there." He thanked the government for their assistance in bringing her home.

The group of deportees, mostly from Gujarat's Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Patan, Vadodara, and Kheda districts, also included a family of four from Manund village in Patan district. Local police took them to their village, but their house remained locked. A neighbour mentioned, "they were brought here by the local police in the morning, but they went somewhere else instead of going to their house. The owner of the house has also gone elsewhere. Maybe they are nervous and do not want to face the media at this point."
(with PTI inputs)