Diplomat Correspondent
New Delhi: DD, Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday clarified that the incident involving a Nepali citizen, Shambhavi Adhikari, who was stopped at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) while en route to Berlin, has been misrepresented as discrimination.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as per news agency Kashmir News Corner (KNC), “It has been reported that Shambhavi Adhikari, a citizen of Nepal heading to Berlin, was stopped at Delhi IGIA and sent back to Kathmandu. The incident has been wrongly portrayed as bias/discrimination against Nepali citizens. Indian immigration authorities had no role in this episode,” the MHA said.
The statement explained that the passenger arrived from Kathmandu via Air India and was transiting through Delhi. She was stopped while boarding her connecting Qatar Airways flight, as the airline, considering her visa validity, decided not to allow onward travel to Germany. The passenger later rescheduled her travel via another route from Kathmandu.
The Ministry emphasized, “International transit passengers are not required to approach Indian Immigration for their onward journey. This is a matter between the airlines and the passenger, with absolutely no involvement of Indian immigration authorities.” (KNC)