BENGALURU: The City is likely to get its first detention centre for foreigners, who are living illegally in the India in violation of their visa rules. They have either overstayed their visit or have no valid documents to support their entry, stay and exit from here. As per the figures available with the Foreigner Regional Registration Office, in Bengaluru there are currently 860 foreigners who are living illegally. They comprise Nigerians, Sudanese, Iranians, Yemenis and Ivorians (from the Ivory Coast) and have either come on student or medical visas, which have long expired. Some of them don't even have valid passports, said an official source.
The request for a detention centre, where the movement of illegal foreigners can be restricted has been a long pending demand by the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and the FRRO in Bengaluru. "The government is seized of the matter and is likely to sanction a detention centre in the city soon. They need to identify a building, where illegal foreigners can be kept. The Department of Social Welfare will manage the centre," the officer added.
In the absence of a detention centre it is difficult for the jurisdictional police to keep a vigil on illegal foreigners, who use loopholes in the Indian laws to overstay here. There is no way to restrict their movements, said another officer. For those, who have outstayed their visa rules, the FRRO with the help of local police gets their exit permits and makes sure that they leave the country immediately. For others, who have no passports, the FRRO gets in touch with their embassies for their documents, which in turn track their nationals, who live here and get their passport details.
"The paper work takes time. Very often these illegal foreigners disappear. They change places and even cities, and it is not easy to track them. The detention centre is a necessity to restrict their movements and keep a watch on them," the officer added. "Most of the illegal foreigners get involved in criminal activities and peddling of narcotic drugs, often also to escape return to their countries. Once a criminal case is filed against them and they are arrested, then the whole process of their exit gets delayed because of the legal requirements. They get enlarged on bail on condition that they will not leave the city. Some foreigners destroy their passports so that they get booked by the police. It is a vicious cycle and a challenge for the police," the officer said.
