Hyderabad: 36 foreign nationals from 10 African countries face deportation
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The Cyberabad police have started the process of deporting 36 foreign nationals hailing from African countries. They were apprehended during a raid on a farmhouse in Bakaram revenue village, where a birthday party was being held, by the Shamshabad Special Operation Team (SOT) and Rajendrangar police.
Twenty three foreign nationals were sent back to their countries after 20 of them submitted their original passports.One-time travel documents were procured for three others from the respective embassies. Travel documents have been procured for nine other foreign nationals and they will be repatriated in a week’s time. As four foreign nationals were unable to provide proper documentation, they have been kept in detention centers pending enquiry.
According to the police, 51 foreign nationals – 37 women and 14 men – were celebrating a birthday. Of the 51 people, 37 were from Uganda, two from Nigeria, three from Liberia, and others from Botswana, Kenya, Cameroon, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Malawi. Upon verification of documents, it was found that 36 foreign nationals (7 men and 29 women) were overstaying in India without valid documents.
When asked why they were in India to begin with, an official with the Cyberabad police told TNM on the condition of anonymity that most of them had come here on tourist and business visas while a handful of them were on medical visas.
“They overstayed for around six months to a year. When we questioned them most of them couldn’t understand English and they were silent. Even if they could, they chose silence and there wasn’t much to do,” the official said.
He however added that there was no criminal intent found yet. “If they were involved in drugs or criminal activity of any kind, there would be no question of letting them go. But that wasn’t the case. There was illegality, but no criminality has been found yet in the cases where we went ahead with deportation,” he said, adding that more details are to be verified.
The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Hyderabad had issued movement restriction orders to these 36 foreign nationals. They were shifted to various detention centers in Cyberabad and Hyderabad for safe custody ahead of the deportation.