Curiosity to explore a bustling market in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich, just across the border from Nepal, landed two British doctors in the district jail earlier this week.
Sources said the doctors, of Indian and Pakistani origin, were taken into custody by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) since they did not have relevant papers to travel in India; they only had a visa to work in Nepal. While the Indian-origin doctor has an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, officials said entry through the border via which she came into India is only for Indian and Nepalese citizens, not for citizens of a third country.
The British doctors are audiologists, with expertise in treating the hearing impaired. They had come to Nepalganj on an invitation from a private hospital to give their services at a Otology (ear-related medical problem) camp.
Officials said the Indian-origin doctor, aged 61, hails from Karnataka. The other doctor is aged 35. Both have British passports.
They were held under Section 14A of the Foreigners Act after a case was lodged at Rupaidiha police station in Bahraich.
A senior official said the Indian-origin doctor was held despite having an OCI card since travel across the Rupaidiha-Nepalganj border is permitted only for Indian and Nepalese nationals — and not for a person from a third country — as per the India-Nepal agreement.
Deputy SP Pradyumna Singh, the circle officer of Nanpara area of Bahraich, said in a statement that during their usual vehicle check, SSB personnel at Rupaidiha border post spotted the two British nationals walking into Indian territory around 10 am on November 15.
Story continues below this ad
The personnel checked their documents and found both had British passports and visas to travel to Nepal. The woman also had an OCI card, he added.
The SSB team alerted officials, after finding one of them was of Pakistani origin. The doctors were questioned and their statement verified about their staying in Nepalganj for a few days after being invited to a medical camp, an official said.
Intelligence agency officials too questioned the two extensively and later handed them over to the Bahraich police, the official added.
The duo claimed they had no ill-intention when they walked into Indian territory and just wanted to have a look at the vicinity and the market, the official said.
