After spending nearly 15 days under distressing circumstances at the Malaysia airport and a detention centre, Jalandhar youth Akash Pushkarna has finally returned safely to India, with the intervention of Rajya Sabha MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal. The distressed youth had also appealed for help through a video posted on social media.Akash was returning to India from New Zealand after nearly 13 years to meet his ailing father. However, when he landed at the Delhi airport on April 24, immigration officials denied him entry into India and deported him to Malaysia.Akash said these days were the most painful in his life. After reaching Malaysia, he was forced to sleep on the airport floor for nearly six days. Later, he was kept in a detention centre for nine days, where he was neither provided proper food, nor any basic facilities. He said he had neither sufficient clothes, nor money to buy food.Becoming emotional, Akash said the most heartbreaking part for him was that “my own country refused to recognise me as an Indian.” He stated that he had travelled to India with all valid travel documents issued from New Zealand, yet his entry was rejected immediately upon arrival in Delhi.He alleged that immigration officials at the Delhi airport deliberately denied him entry into his own country because their “ego was hurt”. Shockingly, he neither had a Malaysian visa, nor any arrangements to stay there. Akash further said whenever he sought help, he was either told to approach the UN or seek assistance from the New Zealand government, but nobody was willing to listen to him.After returning to India, Akash, along with his family, met Seechewal at Nirmal Kutia, Sultanpur Lodhi, and thanked him for his support. Akash’s father Rajesh said when the family learned about the incident, they were left deeply shocked. He said they met Seechewal on May 1, and due to his immediate intervention, his son was able to safely return to India within just nine days. The family said they had been under immense mental stress for several days and were constantly praying for their son’s safety.While speaking to mediapersons, Seechewal thanked the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Malaysia for their cooperation, which helped ensure the safe return of the youth to India. He also appealed to youngsters aspiring to go abroad not to fall prey to incomplete information or fraudulent agents. He said the desire to go abroad sometimes pushes young people into life-threatening situations.