NEW DELHI: Indians going missing after reaching offshore destinations is not the only aspect of human trafficking which bothers government.
India too has its share of foreign kabootars (illegal immigrants) - incidentally from developed countries like US, UK and Germany - who come here on valid travel documents but disappear after expiry of their visas.
The case of this apparent 'reverse kabootarbazi ' is reflected from figures compiled by home ministry, which listed 165 countries whose over 1.5 lakh nationals disappeared after reaching India during 2003-05. The ministry could arrive at the figure only because they, unlike their Indian counterparts, did not come here using fake documents or by hiding in shipping containers.
Though a majority of them (over 1.3 lakh) are from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, 10,000-odd foreigners have left officials puzzled as they are from developed countries and therefore it negates the theory of 'economic migration' in their case.
Incidentally, US citizens are at the top of the list among nationals of developed countries who have gone missing after arrival. The statistics, disclosed in response to a question during in Parliament, reveals that 2,620 US nationals disappeared in India during the period.
The second spot in the list is occupied by UK (1,964) followed by South Korea (1,136), Canada (985), Japan (808), Singapore (632), Germany (605) and Australia (506).
Citizens of countries like France (265), Norway (199), New Zealand (141), Netherlands (114), Israel (79) and Italy (76) too found India a destination where they could remain illegally.
Though 11,303 foreigners of different nationalities were deported from India after being caught by security agencies during 2005, 35,610 still remained traceless. The figures put security agencies on their toes as they consider Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants a major threat considering that even terrorists might have entered India on valid documents before disappearing into thin air.
Officials, however, are puzzled over the reason for illegal stay of nearly 10,000 nationals of developed countries. Even those who were deported during 2005 did not give a valid reason. They entered the country on tourist visas and overstayed at exotic locations like Goa, Almora and a number of places in Himachal and Uttarakhand.
"Even as no one knows the real intention, it creates the same problem for India as unemployed Indians pose to the authorities in US, UK, Canada or Germany," said a home ministry official.
The ministry's figures (for 2003-05) show that Bangladesh, with 72,415 overstaying nationals, tops the overall list followed by Afghanistan (34,767) and Pakistan (21,389).
source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/New_problem_What_about_illegal_foreigners/articleshow/1982178.cms
India too has its share of foreign kabootars (illegal immigrants) - incidentally from developed countries like US, UK and Germany - who come here on valid travel documents but disappear after expiry of their visas.
The case of this apparent 'reverse kabootarbazi ' is reflected from figures compiled by home ministry, which listed 165 countries whose over 1.5 lakh nationals disappeared after reaching India during 2003-05. The ministry could arrive at the figure only because they, unlike their Indian counterparts, did not come here using fake documents or by hiding in shipping containers.
Though a majority of them (over 1.3 lakh) are from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, 10,000-odd foreigners have left officials puzzled as they are from developed countries and therefore it negates the theory of 'economic migration' in their case.
Incidentally, US citizens are at the top of the list among nationals of developed countries who have gone missing after arrival. The statistics, disclosed in response to a question during in Parliament, reveals that 2,620 US nationals disappeared in India during the period.
The second spot in the list is occupied by UK (1,964) followed by South Korea (1,136), Canada (985), Japan (808), Singapore (632), Germany (605) and Australia (506).
Citizens of countries like France (265), Norway (199), New Zealand (141), Netherlands (114), Israel (79) and Italy (76) too found India a destination where they could remain illegally.
Though 11,303 foreigners of different nationalities were deported from India after being caught by security agencies during 2005, 35,610 still remained traceless. The figures put security agencies on their toes as they consider Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants a major threat considering that even terrorists might have entered India on valid documents before disappearing into thin air.
Officials, however, are puzzled over the reason for illegal stay of nearly 10,000 nationals of developed countries. Even those who were deported during 2005 did not give a valid reason. They entered the country on tourist visas and overstayed at exotic locations like Goa, Almora and a number of places in Himachal and Uttarakhand.
"Even as no one knows the real intention, it creates the same problem for India as unemployed Indians pose to the authorities in US, UK, Canada or Germany," said a home ministry official.
The ministry's figures (for 2003-05) show that Bangladesh, with 72,415 overstaying nationals, tops the overall list followed by Afghanistan (34,767) and Pakistan (21,389).
source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/New_problem_What_about_illegal_foreigners/articleshow/1982178.cms