India monitors students in US that enrolled in fake university

India says it's closely monitoring the detention of several Indian students in the U.S. and has urged authorities there to not deport them against their will.

Indian news reports say as many as 129 Indians are among those detained Wednesday by U.S. immigration authorities in connection with enrollment at a fake university.

The Detroit Free Press reported that the university was set up by U.S. authorities as part of sting operation to catch people violating the terms of their visas.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement Saturday that it has been in contact with U.S. officials and has expressed concern for the detained students.

The ministry said it urged the U.S. to release them "at the earliest" and cautioned that some "may have been duped."

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