KARWAR: A group of 10 Muslim clerics, who had arrived in the country on tourist visas, have been sent back to their home countries after they were found to be violating visa norms.
The clerics — seven from South Africa and one each from Saudi Arabia, Canada and Venezuela — were on a five-day visit to Bhatkal during mid-September. They were accompanied by three of their Indian friends — two from Maharashtra and one from Gujarat. There, they allegedly conducted religious meetings and raised donations from the local Muslim community in violation of visa norms.
Uttara Kannada district Superintendent of Police Shiva Prakash Devaraju told Express that the police came to know about their activities on the second day of their visit to Bhatkal. After a thorough inquiry, it was found that they have visited India many times to raise funds. The issue was brought to the notice of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after which their visas were cancelled and they were sent back to their home countries, he added.
It is said that the clerics had visited India several times in the past, but this was the first time they had visited Bhatkal.
Official sources said that in the light of such incidents in different parts of the country, the MHA has tightened scrutiny of visas of tourists from a few countries. Police have been instructed to keep tabs on foreign nationals who visit various parts of the country.
Last month, the district police had detained a few Kashmiri youths who had stayed in Bhatkal and Karwar for a week to raise funds for religious programmes.