NEW DELHI: In a move that will likely prevent people with a history of child sexual abuse from travelling to India, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Monday announced that declaration of criminal record would now be mandatory for those applying for an Indian visa.
“It has now been decided that an appropriate questionnaire & a declaration will be incorporated in the visa application form which will have to be filled up by visa applicants/ foreign nationals,” Gandhi wrote on Twitter and thanked Home Minister Rajnath Singh for considering and accepting the request.
The minister added that her request was based on “complaints of serial child sexual abuse offenders managing to visit India”. “This step will certainly be a strong deterrent for perpetrators of such heinous crimes,” she tweeted.