Over 100 Africans in city arrested, face deportation

The city police picked up at least 200 African nationals residing in the city and later arrested 107 of them on multiple charges, including overstaying, on Saturday.

The police also reportedly seized 650 g of ganja, 60 g of cocaine and 10 g of LSD and arrested six persons under the NDPS Act. The operation was conducted simultaneously in three separate police subdivisions in the city, with focus being mostly in Whitefield, KR Puram, TC Paliya and nearby residential areas where African students stay as tenants.

The city police claimed at least 300 cops were involved in the operation. The police said that the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) have been sending them reports about people overstaying in the city.

The city police last year had identified 10 localities in the city, including Kammanahalli, Kothannur, Chellekere and nearby areas, which had a sizeable number of African nationals.

“Of late, we have realised that these foreigners are not residing at the same address provided at FRRO and it has become tough to trace them. It was one of the reasons we decided to conduct the drive at the same time,” said Seemant Kumar Singh, Additional Commissioner, Bengaluru (East).

“Those who found staying without valid documents were booked under Section 17 of the Foreigners’ Act and will be deported after the completion of their trial,“ said a police officer, part of the crackdown.