One month on the road and ₹1cr later, mother-son's American dreams crash

Lovepreet Kaur and her 10-year-old son left their village in Punjab's Kapurthala district, carrying little more than hope of reuniting with her husband in America. By February 1, they would find themselves on a military transport plane back to India.

- Navrajdeep Singh

JALANDHAR: On January 2, Lovepreet Kaur and her 10-year-old son left their village in Punjab's Kapurthala district, carrying little more than hope of reuniting with her husband in America. By February 1, they would find themselves on a military transport plane back to India.

The 30-year-old's journey would take her through four continents, cost her family ₹1.05 crore, and end in detention at the Mexican border - part of a wave of deportations that saw 104 Indians returned to Amritsar on a US military aircraft on Wednesday.

"The duo first reached Dubai on January 2. From Dubai, they boarded a flight to Moscow before entering Latin American countries," said Nishan Singh, the village sarpanch.

"Their trip was via Honduras, Guatemala and they were finally caught attempting to enter the US via Mexico," he added.