BHUBANESWAR: A holiday trip to Bangkok for four tourists from Odisha turned into a nightmare as they were allegedly detained and harassed by immigration officials at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok on their arrival on Saturday.The tourists from the State were part of a 40-member team from India who had gone on a jaunt sponsored by a private company. The immigration officials detained them immediately after they arrived at the Bangkok airport from Kolkata.
The tourists alleged though they had all valid documents including passport and visa, the immigration officials tortured and treated them like criminals. Kailash Agarwal, the uncle of Kanhaiya Dhawalia (21), who has been detained at the airport, said Thai officials snatched all their valuables, confined them in a room and treated as if they have committed any crime.
“He spoke to me in the morning and said the immigration officials tortured them without any fault of theirs. They seized all their documents and put them in a room. The officials had provided non-vegetarian food, but he is awaiting further action without food as he is a vegetarian,” said Agarwal of Birmitrapur in Sundargarh district.
Communication with the Thai authorities was a big problem. They speak the Thai language while we speak and understand Hindi and English. “They harassed them for not carrying shorts and backpacks,” Agarwal added.
Their relatives have written to the Indian Embassy at Thailand and External Affairs Ministry demanding their immediate release and an inquiry into the whole episode. They have tweeted to Ambassador of India to Thailand Suchitra Durai, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in this regard.