Two British nationals have been sentenced to six months in jail for illegally crossing the border from Nepal into India, highlighting the strict enforcement of immigration laws and the consequences of unlawful entry.
Key Points
- Two British nationals, Hassan Amman Saleem and Sumitra Shakeel Olivia, received six-month jail sentences for illegally entering India from Nepal.
- The pair were apprehended at the Indo-Nepal border for lacking valid entry documents and violating immigration laws.
- Saleem, a lecturer from Manchester, and Olivia, a British citizen originally from India, were fined Rs 50,000 each.
- The court granted them bail pending appeal, preventing them from leaving India during this period.
- The individuals had travelled from the UK to Nepal for a charity programme before attempting to enter India.
A court has sentenced two British nationals to six months' imprisonment for illegally entering India from Nepal, officials said.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Pratibha Chowdhry also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of the convicts.
In case of default in payment of the fine, they will have to undergo an additional three months' imprisonment.
The court, however, granted them bail after pronouncement of the sentence on the condition that they will not leave the country during the appeal period.
According to prosecution officer Nirmal Yadav, the two -- Hassan Amman Saleem (35) and Sumitra Shakeel Olivia (61) -- were arrested in November last year from the Indo-Nepal border at Rupaideha for entering India without valid documents.
Saleem, originally from Gujranwala in Pakistan, is a resident of Manchester, United Kingdom, and works as a lecturer in audiology at the De Montfort University.
Olivia, originally from Udupi in Karnataka, later acquired British citizenship and resides in Gloucester, UK. She holds a British passport as well as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
Yadav said the two had travelled from the UK to Nepal to participate in a charity programme for hearing-impaired children at a medical college in Nepalgunj. They were holding valid Nepal visas.
On November 15, personnel of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Uttar Pradesh Police intercepted them during a joint checking drive at the International Border as they attempted to enter India.
They were found to be without valid documents for entry into the country and were subsequently arrested under relevant provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act.
After spending some time in jail, the duo was granted bail by the court on the condition that they would not leave the country. Since then, they had been attending court hearings regularly, staying mostly in hotels in Bahraich during the trial.
Based on the evidence and circumstances, the court found both accused guilty and awarded the sentence, observing that punishment in cases of illegal entry is necessary to ensure compliance with the law, Yadav said.
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