Foreigners in J&K prisons without trial

Several yet to be tried, many overstayed in state

Almost 50 per cent of foreigners lodged in various jails of Jammu and Kashmir are being detained without any trial. Official data reveals that at least 185 foreigners are present serving detention in various jails of the state.

A Union Home Ministry document reveals that 20 foreigners are serving prison term after conviction, while 66 others are facing trial in various courts of the state.

“Out of total 95 foreigners detained in the country, 92 are in the prisons of Jammu and Kashmir and most of them are those who have either completed their sentence and or detained under preventive laws,” it says.

The document reveals that till 2012 there were 123 foreigners overstaying in the state and 2010, 35 foreigners were detected to be overstaying which grew to 56 in the following year.

The report also reveals that from 2010 to 2012, as many as 21 overstaying foreigners were arrested from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir, including seven in 2010, two in 2011 and 12 in 2012.

The number of overstaying foreign nationals, including Bangladeshis in the country, has been increasing every year as they do not return after completion of their valid staying time in accordance with documents, it adds.

“These foreign nationals are arrested for violating the provisions of Immigration Control Rules and Regulations,” the report states.

There are reports of foreign nationals, having entered India without valid travel documents, the Home Ministry report reveals, adding that as the entry of such foreign nationals into India is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to have a correct estimate of such illegal immigrants living in different parts of the country.