33 foreigners overstaying in city; only 11 traced

Mysore/Mysuru: The issue of foreigners illegally overstaying despite the expiry of their visas in Mysuru city has come to the fore again after the alleged custodial death of a Congolese man in Bengaluru recently and the subsequent clashes between African students and the Police. 

In Mysuru, 22 foreigners remain untraceable whose visas have expired. Police records show that actually 33 foreign nationals are missing. They include students who are pursuing studies at various professional colleges and the University of Mysore. Of the 33, 11 have been traced so far and search is on to find others. 

Police say that a large chunk of foreigners come to cities like Bengaluru and Mysuru for education and stay till their student visa expires. When they come here, they take houses on rent and most of the landlords do not insist on filling up Form C, a mandatory procedure.  

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, City Police Commissioner Dr. Chandragupta said that the Police have records of all foreigners and the dates of their visa expiry. “We have all the records and the jurisdictional Police regularly monitor their activities  and place of stay to prevent any untoward incidents. Their stay becomes illegal after the expiry of their visas and as of now we have 22 foreign nationals who are missing. Cases are booked under the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939,” he said. 

All records provided by foreign nationals are reviewed by the jurisdictional Police Stations every month. “These 22 foreigners have left the city without informing the jurisdictional Police. We have the City Special Branch to deal with such cases and the information of overstaying foreign nationals have been relayed to the authorities concerned,” Dr. Chandragupta added. 

Sources in Police Dept. say, a majority of foreign nationals come to Mysuru to pursue education. There are many institutions in city that offer professional courses. Every year, over 300 to 400 foreign students enrol for academic programmes in the University and affiliated colleges. 

While Africa and India’s immediate neighbours remain a good source for foreign students, South-east Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines are good destinations from where student flow has increased over the years. 

Once a foreign national comes to a city, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) sends details to the Commissionerate and the jurisdictional Police are asked to monitor them closely. Their place of accommodation, travel, contacts and also the credentials of the house owner is checked. 

This apart, in Karnataka, there is a committee led by Principal Secretary (Prison, Civil Defence & Auxiliary Services) to track down foreign nationals living illegally and take action to deport them to their respective countries. The Committee, with a pan-State mandate, has Foreigners Regional Registration Officer and the State Intelligence Chief as its members. The Committee submits a monthly report to the Union Ministry of  Home Affairs.