Atna/Nawada: Nine French tourists were on Sunday deported from Bihar for allegedly violating certain visa rules during their stay in the state, DGP Abhayanand said.
He said the tourists, who were on visit to India as part of `Bharat Samvad Yatra`, were stopped by police in Nawada yesterday when they were attending a public meeting organised by social organisations having links with Naxal groups.
"The state police headquarters decided, in consultation with competent officials in New Delhi, to deport them," the DGP told PTI.
When the foreigners were asked to show their passports and visas, they were found to be violating certain visa rules as to whether they could participate in any such programme, SP (Nawada) SL Das said.
He said the tourists were then detained at a police outpost and later shifted to the circuit house in Nawada at night.
After a fire broke out in the circuit house kitchen this morning, the tourists were asked to wait in the campus and the matter was informed to the state police headquarters, he said.
Das said the foreigners were brought to Patna, about 100 km from Nawada, and finally deported late this evening.
The SP said the tourists were detained for security reasons as the police feared that their visit to remote villages or inaccessible places in the Naxal-hit district might cause harm to them.
PTI
