The government said on Saturday that Indian immigration authorities have no role to play in a Nepali citizen having been stopped at IGIA airport in Delhi, and it was an international airline which decided not to allow her to undertake her onward travel to Germany, considering visa validity.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a release that the incident has been “wrongly portrayed as ‘bias discrimination against Nepali citizens'” and the decision to stop the passenger was taken solely by the airline concerned, based on visa validity and travel documentation requirements.
The release said the passenger then rescheduled her travel dates and later travelled taking another route from Kathmandu.
“It has been reported that Ms Shambhavi Adhikari, a citizen of Nepal heading to Berlin was stopped at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and was sent back to Kathmandu. The incident has been wrongly portrayed as bias / discrimination against Nepali citizens,” the release said.
“It is to clarify that the Indian immigration authorities have no role to play in this entire episode. The said passenger arrived from Kathmandu by Air India and was transiting through Delhi. She was stopped while boarding the connecting flight of Qatar Airways. It was the airlines which decided not to let her undertake her onward travel to Germany considering her visa validity and flew her back to Kathmandu. This is usually undertaken in accordance with the destination country rules / requirements,” it added.
International transit passengers are not required to approach Indian Immigration for their onward journey and this is a matter between the airlines and the passenger with absolutely no role of Indian immigration authorities, the release noted.