Security personnel in northern India arrested two British citizens who allegedly crossed into the country from Nepal without valid visas over the weekend.
The arrests came during heightened security checks on the Rupaidiha border in Uttar Pradesh state following a deadly car explosion in the Indian capital Delhi that killed 13 people earlier this month.
The Britons, reported to be audiologists working on a medical mission in Nepal, were detained on Saturday by the border force Sashastra Seema Bal and the local police.
The pair had walked across the frontier and were intercepted soon after, Ganga Singh Udawat, commandant of the SSB 42nd Battalion, said.
The border is open to Indians and Nepalese but requires foreign nationals to carry visas for both countries.
“During scrutiny of their documents, it was found that both were British nationals and did not possess valid Indian visas,” the commandant told the PTI news agency.
“They failed to provide a satisfactory reason for their entry into India. They have been handed over to the Rupaideha police for further action.”
The pair were identified as Dr Hassan Amman Saleem, 35, a British citizen of Pakistani origin living in Manchester, and Dr Sumitra Shakeel Olivia, 61, originally from Udupi in southern India, with her present address in Gloucester, the PTI reported.
Dr Saleem, a technical audiology instructor at De Montfort University, described his trip to Nepal as “eye-opening”, writing on LinkedIn about the pressures faced by local healthcare services, according to The Telegraph.
Dr Olivia is a clinical lead in paediatric audiology at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
Indian officials said she did not hold an Overseas Citizen of India card, a long-term visa available to people of Indian origin, and therefore required a standard visa to enter the country. Dr Olivia has family in India.
The doctors were volunteering with the Britain Nepal Otology Service (Brinos), a Surrey-based charity providing ear surgery and hearing care in the Himalayan country, according to The Telegraph.
They had travelled to Nepalgunj, a city close to the Indian border, on the invitation of a local hospital. Neil Weir, founder of Brinos, said the pair had left their team during free time to visit the frontier.
He told The Times “it was pure curiosity” that prompted them to go near the border. “They initially intended to look at the border from the Nepalese side,” he said, adding that Dr Olivia had been “keen to put a foot in India” despite warnings from Nepalese authorities not to cross.
Following preliminary questioning, the Rupaideha police registered a case under the Passport Act 1967, which governs travel documentation and immigration offences in India. Superintendent of police Ramanayan Singh said the arrested individuals would be produced before a court.
The UK Foreign Office told The Telegraph: “We are supporting two British nationals detained in India and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The Independent has contacted Brinos and the British High Commission in Delhi for comment.
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