Indian authorities had ‘no role’ in stopping Nepali citizen from travelling to Berlin: MHA

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a clarification regarding reports that a Nepali citizen, Shambhavi Adhikari, was stopped at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) while on her way to Berlin and subsequently sent back to Kathmandu.

The ministry stated that the incident has been wrongly portrayed as an instance of bias or discrimination against Nepali citizens and emphasised that Indian immigration authorities had no role in the matter.

According to the MHA, Adhikari had arrived in Delhi from Kathmandu on an Air India flight and was transiting through IGIA to board a Qatar Airways flight to Germany. The airline staff stopped her before she could board the connecting flight due to issues with her visa validity. “It was the airline which decided not to let her undertake her onwards travel to Germany, considering her visa validity, and flew her back to Kathmandu,” the ministry said in a statement.

Such decisions are taken by airlines without a second thought in cognisance of the rules and requirements of the destination country, the clarification further explained. The passenger, the ministry further added, later rescheduled her travel and reached Germany smoothly via another route from Kathmandu.

While reiterating that the Indian immigration authorities were not involved at any stage, the MHA said the international transit passengers had no obligation to go before the Indian immigration in respect of their onwards journey. “This is a matter strictly between the airline and the passenger, with absolutely no role of Indian immigration authorities,” the statement read.

The ministry further emphasised the centuries-old and friendly relationship between the two countries, India and Nepal. “India values its strong relationship with Nepal and reassures that no Indian authority has any bias or discrimination against citizens of Nepal,” said the MHA.