NEW DELHI – German student expelled from India over participation inprotests against Indian government.
A German student namely Jakob Lindenthal, who participated in protestsagainst India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Chennai, was asked bythe Bureau of Immigration (BOI) officials to leave India.
According to the local media reports in India, Lindenthal, a student fromthe Technical University of Dresden on an exchange programme at the IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT), Madras, was informed that he had been inviolation of visa regulations.
During the protests, Lindenthal had said, “The Indian constitution is asecular one and what the ruling government is doing is a clear form ofdiscrimination.
I am from Germany and I am aware of what happens when this form ofdiscrimination is taken too far.”
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Lindenthal was summoned to the BOI office on Monday and was asked about hisviews on Indian politics and the anti-CAA protests. After the inquiry, hewas told that he would have to leave the country immediately and reapplyfor a visa if he wanted to visit again.
Though the German Consulate offered to give him contacts of lawyers forhelp, feeling unsafe, he decided to leave, sources at IIT told the localmedia.
Lindenthal said he had received “oral directions” from immigrationauthorities to leave India from the Foreigners Regional Registration Officein (FRRO) in Chennai.
