Bengaluru: Overstaying foreigners will now be dealt with by a five-member committee. According to a government order, the committee was formed in response to a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs to all states “for finding the missing foreigners who are found overstaying in India since Jan 1, 2011.”
The Principal Secretary will be in charge of the committee (prisons, crimes and auxiliary services). Its members will include the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), the Superintendent of Police (State Intelligence), the Superintendents of Police of the respective districts, and a representative from the NIC (National Immigration, Visa, and Foreigners Registration and Tracking).
According to the order, the committee would track down missing foreign nationals, perform a monthly evaluation of overstaying foreigners, and educate all district SPs on how to use the e-FRRO system to track down and report illegally overstaying foreigners.
According to the order by the 7th of every month, the committee shall submit to the Government of India, Home Ministry, a monthly report showing the status of tracing the missing foreigners. The decision came a day after Bengaluru’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) apprehended 38 foreigners suspected of residing in the city illegally or selling drugs. After a period of detention, fourteen of them were let off. During a search of 65 houses in East and North Bengaluru, the “illegal” expats, largely from Africa, were found, and they were unable to show legitimate documentation. The CCB discovered illegal narcotics like ecstasy tablets and ganja in some of the homes.
