THE Union Home Ministry on Saturday stated that Indian immigration authorities had no role in the recent incident involving a Nepali citizen, Shambhavi Adhikari, being stopped at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) while transiting to Berlin and sent back to Kathmandu.
In a press statement, an MHA spokesperson said the incident, which some reports portrayed as discriminatory, was entirely a decision of the airline concerned and had nothing to do with the Indian authorities.
“Adhikari, who arrived in Delhi from Kathmandu on an Air India flight, was scheduled to board a connecting Qatar Airways flight to Germany. However, the airline did not allow her to continue her journey citing visa validity issues, and subsequently (she) flew her back to Kathmandu in accordance with international travel rules,” the statement said.
“She was not processed through Indian immigration, as international transit passengers are not required to approach Indian immigration for onward travel,” a spokesperson said, adding that such matters lie strictly between airlines and passengers, depending on the destination country’s visa requirements.
The MHA spokesperson said Adhikari later travelled to Berlin on a different route from Kathmandu after rescheduling her trip.
Reaffirming India’s close ties with Nepal, the government underlined that “no Indian authority has any bias or discrimination against citizens of Nepal”.
