New Delhi: A German exchange student who was allegedly asked to leave India after he was seen protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Chennai was not “forced out” and was scheduled to leave for home Monday, a source in Ministry of Home Affairs told ThePrint.
The source added that Jakob Georg Lindenthal, a Master’s student in the Department of Physics at IIT-Madras, had violated his visa norms that prohibit participation in an organised protest.
According to the source, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) received a complaint mentioning that Lindenthal was seen at an “organised protest”, which is a visa violation, and action should be taken against him.
“A person who has come to India on a student visa cannot be a part of an organised protest. That is a violation,” the source said.
He added there was no “coercive action” against Lindenthal and he was informed “orally” about possible action against him.
“In such cases, when we receive these complaints, we carry out an inquiry and take necessary action. In most cases, it is just a warning,” the source added.
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A second source told ThePrint that a “discreet inquiry” was initiated against Lindenthal after they received complaints about him carrying a poster that said, ‘1933 to 1945; We Have Been There’, pointing to Nazi rule in Germany.
The source also said officials from FRRO did visit Lindenthal after they found out about his alleged proximity to a Marxist group, Chinta Bar, which organised the protest at IIT-Madras. The source said the officials asked him about the purpose of his visit, checked his document and asked him why was he at the protest.
The official, however, said they did not ask Lindenthal to “leave the country” and also did not give him anything in writing.
“He was told that he has committed a violation and his visa could be cancelled. He then told us that he had already booked tickets because he was anyway leaving for home for Christmas,” the source said.
Speaking to The Indian Express, however, Lindenthal said he was given “oral directions” to leave the country and so he returned to his hostel, booked his tickets and left.
Had a valid visa
According to the first source, Lindenthal came to India on 26 July and has a student visa which is valid until 27 June 2020. He was on a student exchange programme for a year.
During his visit to India, in October, Lindenthal went to Goa, then to Puducherry and then Chennai.
“His visa was never cancelled. He was just informed that what he was doing was a violation and that is in accordance to procedure,” an official said.
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