Three men belonging to the tribal community of Hakki Pikki from Hunsur in Mysuru district have been stuck at Nampula in Mozambique for the last three months after the local authorities prohibited them from leaving the country.
Saiju, Madhu Chandran, and Praveen, all in their late 30s, allegedly paid a bribe to local authorities to extend their stay in that country, attracting the attention of the Anti-Corruption Department of Mozambique. The department is not ready to let the three leave the country until the investigation into the case is completed.
Anil Kumar, Head of Chancery at High Commission of India at Maputo, on Friday, told The Hindu , “They have neither been detained nor arrested, but prohibited to leave the country. We are making all efforts to let them go back to their homeland.”
16-member team
A team of 16 Hakki Pikki community people, including nine women, were on a visit to Mozambique, to explore the opportunities to make money by offering massaging services and selling herbal products. After the expiry of their three-month visa, they tried to extend their stay by securing residence permits.
They allegedly paid money up to ₹40,000 in Indian currency per passport to get residence permits illegally. They got receipts for ₹16,000 per passport, while the rest was a bribe. The local police apprehended them when they were roaming around after depositing their travel documents to get the residence permits and came to know about their efforts to get the permits through illegal means.
13 deported
The Indian High Commission learnt about the case on July 17. The officials got in touch with the local authorities, and after consultations, they succeeded in getting 13 members of the team deported to India in the first week of August.
“The Anti-Corruption Department is not willing to let these people go because they believe these three got in touch with the local people to get residence permits illegally. Moreover, all the three had visited the country in the past and Saiju and his wife got residence permits through similar means last year,” the officer said.
The High Commission has made arrangements for their stay at Nampula and provided treatment for one of them, who had health issues.
“We are in constant touch with them. Their family members back in India are also aware of the developments. The High Commissioner also had a meeting with the local Minister in Mozambique, and the Minister of External Affairs in India has been informed about this issue,” Mr. Anil Kumar said.
