Digital
Desk: Seven German nationals were detained by the Assam Police on Friday for
violating India's visa rules by performing Christian missionary work in the
state on tourist visas rather than entering the country on Missionary (M)
visas. A restraining order has been issued against the group, which has been
staying at a private resort in the Golghat district
since October 25. Mukut Bodra of Jharkhand, an Indian who was accompanying the
German group, was also detained by police.
Asmus Merten, Bloemlisa Aimee, Von Oheimb Cornelia Elisaveth Friederike,
Hinrich Andreas, Michael Erich Schaper, and Olearius and Chrisia Dorothea are
the detained Germans.
"We discovered that they have tourist visas," said Golaghat SP Ramandeep Kaur. They are not permitted to carry out missionary work while on tourist visas, and we informed them that they had violated the visa rules. They will be deported to their home country the following day."
According to police, action is also being taken against local Christian organizations that invited the Germans without properly advising them on the type of visa required.
According to police, the seven German nationals had attended religious services
in Tinsukia, Margherita, and Karbi Anglong, and were set to begin to attend
another such service in Tezpur on Saturday. This is the state's second such
incident since Wednesday, when three Swedish nationals were detained by police
in Namrup, Dibrugarh district, for participating in a religious congregation in
violation of visa rules and deported to Sweden on Thursday.
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