An Indian student’s violent arrest in an American airport and alleged deportation was taken up by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “continuously failing to protect the honour of India and Indians”.

Ramesh shared a news publication’s images of the arrest, in which it was claimed that the Indian student was crying and claiming that he is not mentally unstable and that they are trying to frame him.

The visuals, purportedly from Newark airport in New Jersey, show Port Authority police personnel pinning the Indian student down.

The arrest was first shared on Sunday on X by a user, Kumal Jain, whose bio says “Indo-American Social Entrepreneur! HBS, MIT, USF alumni. Healthcare and Startups, Hindi author, Moved back to Bharat recently.”

He wrote a couple of posts about it.

“I witnessed a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night— handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing dreams, not causing harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy,” he wrote in one.

Ramesh took up the issue on Tuesday, writing in Hindi: “The Modi government is continuously failing to protect the honour of India and Indians.

“For the first time in history, a foreign head of state announced ceasefire between India and Pakistan in India's absence. US President Trump is constantly claiming to have enforced a ceasefire by pressuring India. For the past one year, Indian citizens and students living in America are being repeatedly mistreated but Prime Minister Modi is maintaining silence, or it should be assumed that he is unable to muster the courage to speak.

“He is the Prime Minister of India, it is his most important responsibility to protect the honour and dignity of India and Indians.

“We demand that Prime Minister Modi should immediately talk to President Trump and appeal for intervention in the mistreatment and atrocities being committed against Indians in America,” he wrote.

After Jain highlighted the arrest on X, the Indian consulate in New York posted on X: We have come across social media posts claiming that an Indian national is facing difficulties at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are in touch with local authorities in this regard. The Consulate remains ever committed for the welfare of Indian Nationals.”

On Tuesday, Jain wrote on X, quoting the Indian consulate’s post: “I'm still curious to know what happened to this kid? Was he ever made to his parents?”