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Nepali woman headed to Germany stopped at Delhi airport, sent back. India clarifies why
The Nepali citizen, identified as Shambhavi Adhikari, was headed to Berlin in Germany, and was reportedly stopped at the Delhi airport.
Reacting to reports of a Nepali national being stopped at New Delhi airport, India on Saturday clarified that its immigration authorities had no role to play.
The Nepali citizen, identified as Shambhavi Adhikari, was headed to Berlin in Germany, and was reportedly stopped at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, and sent back to Kathmandu.
However, the Ministry of Home Affairs later clarified that the Indian immigration authorities weren't involved, and that it was the concerned airline that stopped Shambhavi from boarding the plane.
According to the MHA statement, the Nepali citizen had arrived in Delhi on an Air India plane and was set to board a connecting flight to Berlin. However, the Qatar Airways airline stopped her from boarding the flight citing visa validity concerns, the MHA said, adding that Shambhavi was sent back to Kathmandu.
"It was the airlines which decided not to let her undertake her onward travel to Germany considering her visa validity and flew her back to Kathmandu," the MHA said in a statement, clarifying that Indian authorities weren't involved.
The Indian government said that disallowing the Nepali citizen from further travel was a move "undertaken in accordance with the destination country rules or requirements". The MHA clarified that international transit passengers are not required to approach Indian immigration authorities for their onward journey, as such matters are solely between the airline and the passenger.
After her return to Kathmandu, Shambhavi rescheduled her travel dates and took another route to her destination, the MHA said.
“The incident has been wrongly portrayed as bias/discrimination against Nepali citizens. It is to clarify that the Indian immigration authorities have no role to play in this entire episode,” the statement said.
The MHA reaffirmed India’s "strong relationship" with Nepal, and stressed that Indian authorities do not hold any bias or discrimination against Nepali citizens.
