NEW DELHI: A Namibian citizen has been living in the transit zone at Terminal-3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport for the last two weeks and refuses to leave the airport and return to his home country, airport sources said.
Sources said the foreign national has claimed to have no money for further travel. Officials have identified the person as RVP Undra. He and his friend were deported from Singapore due to a lack of necessary documents and have been at the airport for last 15 days, they said.
“The duo was en-route to Singapore via Vietnam but could not pass the immigration clearance as they lacked a few papers. However, three days after they reached Delhi Airport, the other guy left for another destination but Undra didn’t as he claimed to have no funds for further travel or return to his home country,” the official said. The sources also said that the Embassy of Namibia was informed about the incident but the foreign national did not receive any financial help from there.
“However, Undra is under surveillance. A security guard has been deployed to keep an eye on him,” an official informed. The government did not response to the queries raised by this newspaper regarding the incident. However, a Delhi International Airport Limited official informed that arrangements have been made for Undra’s return.“We are aware of the incident. Arrangements have been made for his return. He will fly back soon,” the senior official said.
The sources said that cases of travellers getting stranded at the airport are not new but this is the first time that a foreign national has stayed for this long period, without any emergency reason. Earlier in 2020, a German citizen had to stay in the transit zone for two months after India announced a ban on all international flights and imposed a nationwide lockdown.