Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (RS)

Panaji, Jul 18: Goa police will form a special detention centre for the foreigners who are overstaying in the state despite expiry of their visa, police officials stated.

The tourist state, baffled with the drug trafficking problem, has decided to nail down the foreigners abusing local laws.

"It's not an imprisonment. It will be more like a holding area where all the foreigners who have overstayed can stay,'' deputy inspector general of police, Ujjwal Mishra stated stating about the 'detention centre.'

In the recent meeting state home minister Ravi Naik has asked the police higher ups to adopt no tolerance towards the foreigners violating the laws. The home minister had asked the department to pump in more iron to its anti-narcotic cell and control the drug trafficking in this tourist state, especially in the coastal belt.

The issue of foreigners 'overstaying' was also brought for the discussion during the hi-level meet.

"There are many foreigners who overstay in Goa for genuine reasons like an illness or lack of connecting flight. We will not treat them like criminals in detention centre,'' the DIG said.

Every foreigner who enters India on a visa valid for more than 180 days or 6 months has to register himself with the Foreigners Registration Officer in whose jurisdiction the foreign National wishes to reside within 14 days of arrival into India unless otherwise a special endorsement is made on the visa by the issuing Indian Embassy or Consulate abroad, states Goa police website www.goapolice.org.

"Tourist visas are not extendable and these instructions are forth coming at the base of every visa issued to the foreign National. However in cases of emergent situations like sickness the applications for extention of the Tourist visa has to be made to the Under Secretary(Home), Home Department, Foreigners Division, Secretariat, Porvorim Goa,'' the website adds.

Goa police are piqued over the tracing of some foreigners who stay here without proper travel documents. "We had specific information about ten Nigerians, of whom we managed to pick up four. Three of them were not even having their passport while one had no valid visa,'' Mishra stated.

This means, he said, these people have served sentence somewhere and their visa is impounded by the respective government.

"We feel that their sustainance is through drugs,'' the DIG stated. He said that the police are on look out for six more from this gang.

Goa police said that most of the foreigners visiting Goa are genuine but only these few black sheeps that bring bad name to the entire lot.