Several Indians, including unaccompanied minors, remain stuck at an airport in France after local authorities yesterday grounded their plane over suspected “human trafficking”. The Nicaragua-bound charter plane from Dubai was carrying 303 people, most of them Indians. It was grounded on Saturday during a technical halt at Vatry airport near Paris.

A French judge, who has the authority to extend the detention of the passengers by eight days, is due to hear the case today.

The French border cops can hold a foreign national for up to four days if they land in the country and are not allowed to travel further. This can be extended for eight days a few times – and up to 26 days in total – in exceptional cases by a judge.

The Indian embassy in France has obtained consular access and are assessing the situation. It said it is working with the French government for the welfare of the Indians stuck at the airport.

Request For Asylum

At least 10 Indian passengers have applied for asylum, reported news agency AFP, adding six minors have also expressed an interest in applying for asylum.

At least 11 unaccompanied minors are on board the plane, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The stranded passengers have been provided makeshift beds and access to toilets and showers. They have been given meals and hot drinks at the Vatry airport, an official said.

Vatry in eastern France is about 150 km from Paris and the airport serves mostly budget airlines. The grounded Airbus A340 belongs to a Romanian charter company named Legend Airlines.

The Paris prosecutor said the action came after an anonymous tip-off that some of the passengers on board the plane were “victims of human trafficking”. Two men have been detained and questioned by a specialised unit.

French law provides for a 20-year jail term for human trafficking cases.

A lawyer claiming that she represents the Legend Airlines said the company believed it had done nothing wrong, had committed no offence “and is at the disposal of the French authorities”.

She said the airline will take legal action if charges are filed.

Less than two weeks after he took oath, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has sought a Rs 2,000 crore loan from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to meet the state’s expenditures.

This is the latest indication of the state government’s poor financial health and growing debt mountain as the ruling BJP embarks on the tough task of fulfilling its promises in the run-up to the recently held Assembly polls. Mr Yadav inherited a debt burden of nearly 4 lakh crore when he took over from former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Mr Chouhan’s welfare schemes such as Ladli Behna were credited with helping the BJP sweep what was predicted to be a close contest. But it came at a high cost. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government borrowed Rs 44,000 crore in 2023 alone, including a Rs 5,000 crore while the poll code was in force. Now, with the new government in place, the state government’s coffers are empty as it stares at a long list of promises.

Mr Yadav has, however, assured in the Assembly that there is “no crisis” and no welfare scheme will stop due to lack of funds. “Some have raised issues, saying schemes will stop. This is an unnecessary fear. No scheme, including Ladli Laxmi Yojana, will be discontinued,” he said.

Mr Yadav added that the BJP manifesto was like Ramayana and Gita and assured that all schemes of the previous government will continue.

The Opposition Congress is not convinced. Party spokesperson Abbas Hafeez said every citizen of Madhya Pradesh is in debt. “Every baby born in Madhya Pradesh is now in a Rs 40,000 debt. The BJP is continuously pushing Madhya Pradesh towards bankruptcy. When will they understand?”

Mr Hafeez said if the Congress came to power and formed a government, it would have tried to find new sources of generating revenue.

Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda hit back, saying the Congress should “introspect” on its crushing defeat instead of targeting the government over its debt. “We need to borrow. If needed, we will borrow for development works like road construction, irrigation projects.”

Mr Devda alleged that the previous Congress governments in the state took loans too, but did not use them for development. Instead, they swindled the funds, he alleged.

A day after ace wrestler Sakshee Malikkh raised concerns regarding the upcoming junior national competitions, the government has suspended the newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) panel for the “hasty” announcement.

The Sports ministry’s statement also noted that the newly elected body “appears to be (in) complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code”.

The business of WFI, the ministry said, is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers. “Which is also alleged premises wherein sexual harassment of the players have been alleged and (at) present the court in hearing the matter,” it added.

The Sports ministry’s strong rebuke comes days after Sanjay Singh, an aide of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, succeeded him in the elections for the country’s top wrestling body.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a six-time BJP MP, had to step aside after the country’s top wrestlers, including Ms Malikkh, accused him of sexually harassing women wrestlers.

The top wrestlers, also including Olympic Games bronze medallist Bajrang Punia and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, hit the streets in January to seek action against the BJP MP. They had called off the agitation following assurances from the government. A probe was also launched against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The WFI elections on Thursday saw Sanjay Singh post a thumping victory against Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anita Sheoran, who was backed by the protesting wrestlers.

Despite assurances that close aides and relatives of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will not be allowed to contest the polls, the nomination of Sanjay Singh was cleared.

Expressing disappoint at the election results, Ms Malikkh had announced that she is quitting the sport. During an interaction with the media, the 2016 Olympics bronze medallist put her boots on the table and said they had wanted the wrestling body to get a woman chief. “But that did not happen. We fought, but if the new president is Brij Bhushan’s aide, his business partner, then I quit wrestling,” she had said.

Visuals of her breaking down during the media interaction sparked outrage, with Opposition leaders accusing the government of shielding the ruling party MP despite the serious allegations against him.

The new president Sanjay Singh had said after his victory that he is close to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and trashed the allegations against him. However, he stressed that he is no dummy candidate for the BJP MP and slammed the protesting wrestlers for “politics”.

In a social media post yesterday, Ms Malikkh said she had quit the sport but was worried about junior women wrestlers. “They are calling me up and telling me that the junior nationals on December 28 are being held at Gonda (in Uttar Pradesh). Gonda is a stronghold of Brij Bhushan. Now imagine what kind of atmosphere the junior women wrestlers will be competing in,” she said in a post on X.

The ministry’s note says the new announcement to hold junior national does not give participants “sufficient notice” and was issued “without following the provisions of the constitution of WFI”.

“The decisions made by the newly elected executive body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) demonstrate a blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms, violating both the WFI’s constitutional provisions and the National Sports Development Code,” it said.

The ministry also noted that the international wrestling body was yet to issue a communication lifting the suspension on WFI. The national wrestling body was suspended after its internal polls were delayed due to the sexual harassment row and court cases.