Three squads of the City Police have been despatched to trace William Lee, a U.S.-based evangelist.
Contrary to initial reports, the City Police could not detain him for violating visa norms. Mr. Lee arrived on a tourist visa, which did not allow him to address a public meeting. On getting information about his speaking at a gospel convention called ‘Musical Splash 2011' at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kaloor, a police team arrived at the spot and asked him not to violate the visa conditions.
Even though the organisers agreed to it, Mr. Lee addressed the gathering by late night. This was spotted by two policemen posted at the venue and higher officials were alerted immediately. On being signalled to stop the lecture, Mr. Lee got off the stage and left by the back entrance.
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Efforts by the police to detain him failed, as he was not available at the hotel where he was staying. Following this, a First Information Report was filed at the Palarivattom police station against Mr.. Lee and officials of Faith Leaders Church of God, the organisers of the convention.
Look-out alerts against Mr. Lee have also been sent to all airports to prevent him from leaving the country. He had come on a multiple-entry tourist visa valid till March 20, 2012. The organisers of the event, from Thiruvalla, are also absconding since the police intervention.