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Seven foreign women with expired visas detained at Gaya Airport, security agencies on alert
Airport Director-in-Charge Awadhesh Kumar said that the detained women included five from Malaysia and one each from Singapore and Thailand.
GAYA JI
Seven foreign women from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand were caught at Gaya Airport with expired visas. The airport authorities detained them inside the terminal and were interrogating them.
Airport Director-in-Charge Awadhesh Kumar said that the detained women included five from Malaysia and one each from Singapore and Thailand. All arrived in Gaya on Thai AirAsia and Thai Airways flights. Immigration checks revealed their visas were expired. They were not allowed to exit. They will be sent back or alternative measures will be taken under immigration rules, Kumar said.
Nineteen foreigners have been detained at Gaya Airport in the past three days. On Thursday, 12 Buddhist monks of the 150 passengers arrived on a chartered flight from Cambodia lacked valid visas. Next day, the government issued Temporary Living Permits (TLP) as an optional arrangement, directing them to return to Cambodia within seven days, he said.
Following the continued detention of passengers, surveillance at Gaya Airport has been further tightened and security agencies are on full alert during the tourist season.
According to regulations, passengers without visas or with expired visas will be fined at least ₹2 lakh each. This amount will be collected through the airlines, Kumar added.
