Tirupur: After receiving the details about overstaying Nigerians in the city, the Tirupur police have given a grace period for the visa violators to correct their illegalities. Nigerian community welfare association has submitted the details to the police following an ultimatum issued by the police to the violators to leave the country.
The issue came to the fore after business communities complained that many Nigerians were involved in the trade without valid documents at Khaderpettai garments market. "As per the police records, only four Nigerians have registered to do business in the city. But more than 200 Nigerians were said to have involved in the trade," said a trader from the city. A senior police officer said, "To take action against the overstaying Nigerians, we should verify their documents. So, we have asked Philip Nicolas, president of Tirupur Nigeria community welfare and garment traders association, to submit the visa details of Nigerians and business permits if they have any. We also asked him to give details about Nigerians who are doing business without permits."
Another police officer said, "Even if some of them do not have valid documents, we could not take action against them in one day. The ultimatum has sent a strong message to the community. We believe they would follow the law hereafter. If they don't, we would take action against them."
K S Babuji, general secretary of collar work and hosiery small industries association, said, "We were told that the police were inquiring the Nigerians on the issue. We hope people who were violating the passport (entry into India) act were dealt according to the law."
