Goa looking for land for foreigners' detention centre: CM

The Goa government is in the process of identifying land for setting up an "isolated detention centre" for foreign nationals awaiting deportation, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Panaji, Parsekar, whose comments about Nigerian nationals have sparked a controversy, said that the land was being "identified" for the detention centre for to-be deported foreigners.

Under the Indian laws, a foreign national cannot be deported in the course of a trial or until the legal case reaches its fruition.

Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar on Monday said that Nigerians often used this loophole to extend their stay in India by getting purposely embroiled in criminal cases.

The upcoming isolated detention centre will enable state authorities to house the deportees in the facility and ensure they are in check until the deportation process is completed.

The Goa government had expedited the process of creating an "Isolated Detention Centre" a few years back after a mob of Nigerian nationals blocked the National Highway No.17 protesting the murder of a compatriot allegedly by a local drug mafia.

Many locals, policemen and Nigerians themselves were injured in the ensuing clashes.

In 2012 alone, nearly 40 Africans from Nigeria, Sudan, South Africa, etc. were arrested for overstaying using doctored visas in the North Goa district.

Since 2011, 160 foreigners have been booked in Goa for overstaying under the Passports Act.

Parsekar on Monday said that Goans were "annoyed" with the behaviour, attitude and lifestyle of Nigerians living in Goa and that he was getting numerous complaints about them.

--IANS

maya/rn/vt