Foreigners in a spot

Foreigners in a spot



Rakshita AdyanthayaFirst Published : 12 Mar 2009 04:14:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 12 Mar 2009 08:38:42 AM IST
BANGALORE: The 39 foreigners arrested for partying in the pub city on Saturday are in for major trouble if they are convicted.
Conviction would mean their passports would get a remark, which would mean that once they return to their countries life would become a rough ride.
And ironically, the crime they are facing conviction for, doesn’t even come close to criminal activities in most of the other nations and other states in India itself.
The accused, mostly students, had to spend almost two days in the central jail.
“I didn’t know partying was a crime in this city. I knew about the deadline in pubs, but didn’t know that partying on the outskirts would put us behind the bars.” The tragedy for the foreign students does not end here.
Ajanna, ACP special branch said, “There will be no problems with continuing with their studies in the city when they are on bail. But once they are convicted, it will be registered in their passports.” A friend of an Iranian accused said, “We know this is not a big offence. But a remark on her passport will make it difficult for her, even in her country.” Mari (name changed), one of the revelers said, “We were just having fun with our own friends. Though there was no trace of drugs found and no disturbance was caused to the neighbours, we are being treated like criminals.
We can understand if we were driving around recklessly in an inebriated state, but when we were not posing any threat to any one, why target us?” The foreigner students’ travel documents will be seized till the disposal of the case and they will have to abide by the conditions and restrictions imposed by the court. It’s only after the disposal of the case that they will get the exit permit from the Foreigners Registration Office with an endorsement made in their passport to that effect, said an officer.
The recently enforced laws in Karnataka say that music can only be played softly and in the background, especially in a place that serves alcohol.
On top of that, if liquor is served at a place where there is dancing it is considered an offence.
On Sunday, the 101 revelers had violated this law and indulged in a farmhouse birthday party at a rural part of the city. They were arrested for partying and serving liquor with women “scantily” dressed engaged in “obscene dancing” as claimed by the police and the accused were booked under the Excise act.
Case update
Out of 55 revelers, who will still in police custody, 54 were released on bail by 8:30 pm on Thursday. Except one, an Ethiopian national, all have been released.
More arrests
Four people, all Sudanese nationals, who had gone to receive their friends as they were being let out on bail, were arrested on Thursday after they assaulted a mediaperson for trying to take photographs of the accused. The four, Hussein Ahmed, Ram Yasin Idris, Hussein Mohammed Ali and Sameer Behar Abdul Khadir, have been arrested by the Parrappana Agrahara police.