Bengaluru: On Thursday, the state Legislature was informed that 754 foreign nationals were still residing in Karnataka after their visas had expired, and that 502 police complaints had been filed against foreign nationals.
Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara said the administration will take action to have them deported in response to a query from BJP member Gopinath in the Legislative Council.
People from foreign countries visit or study in the state for a variety of reasons.
The majority of the 502 cases filed against non-citizens in the state are for criminal activity, he added, and the majority of those accused are from Africa. Parameshwara stated that they plot to have a complaint filed against them so that they can remain in India, but that his office is keeping tabs on them anyway.
The minister reported that there are 4,890 international pupils enrolled in schools across the state, and that as many as 8,862 international visitors are legally present in Bengaluru and elsewhere in the state.
He mentioned there were violent occurrences involving some foreign nationals and that every police station had been asked to keep an eye on them. He promised that expiation of foreign people whose visas had expired would be handled expeditiously.
The Home Minister has also reported that there is a severe lack of jail space.
In response to a question from Pratap Simha Nayak of the BJP, he remarked that out of Karnataka's 54 prisons, 28 have too many inmates. The state's jails have a capacity of 14,237 inmates, while the actual number of inmates is 16,053.
He claimed that despite the construction of new barracks for 3,700 inmates across six new prisons, there remains a severe shortage of prisoner housing notwithstanding these efforts.—Inputs from Agencies