GUWAHATI: The Assam police are keeping an eye on the activities of foreign tourists after ten of them – seven from Germany and three from Sweden – were detained for flouting visa norms.
They arrived in the country on tourist visa but took part in religious gatherings in different parts of the state.
The police charged a fine of US $500 from each of them as per a guideline of the Union ministry of home affairs before going ahead with the formalities for their deportation.
Assam’s Special Director General of Police GP Singh told journalists that all superintendents of police had been directed to keep vigil on foreign tourists if they attend religious programmes.
“The SPs have been directed to keep an eye on religious events attended by foreigners. The police will find out who came, on what visa they came, why they came and which activities they are taking part in,” Singh said.
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Foreigners must come on a missionary visa if they want to participate in a religious programme but even then, they cannot indulge in proselytization, he said.
“As regards the ten German and Swedish nationals, we have sufficient evidence about which churches and places they visited for preaching. It was a clear-cut case of violation of tourist visa norms,” the Special DGP said.
The ten foreigners had participated in religious activities in areas where tribals and tea garden workers have sizeable populations.
Singh said the police would find out who had invited them and why. He said there had been an instruction from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that nobody should be allowed to indulge in illegal activities.
“We welcome foreign tourists. More than 95% of them come purely to visit places,” he added.
Earlier, the Assam police detained 17 Bangladeshi nationals for committing a similar offence.