Detained, turned back from B’luru airport, alleges Kashmiri origin writer

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: British writer of Kashmiri descent Nitasha Kaul on Sunday alleged that she was detained by immigration authorities at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) and then sent back to London.

Kaul, a former Indian national and Kashmiri Pandit, claimed that she was harassed, denied basic necessities, kept in a holding cell for nearly 24 hours and then deported despite having a British passport and an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI).

The author, also a professor at University of Westminster, alleged that she was treated poorly because she was critical of RSS, the ruling BJP’s parent body.

She took to Twitter to claim that she wasn’t allowed to enter the country on Friday by the Centre despite having an invite from the State government to attend the ‘Constitution and National Unity’ conference held at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru.

“Denied entry to India for speaking on democratic and constitutional values. I was invited to a conference as an esteemed delegate by the Government of Karnataka (Congress-ruled state) but Centre refused me entry. All my documents were valid and current (UK passport & OCI),” Kaul tweeted.