Ugandan man arrested for overstaying in India for 31 years
THE police in India on Tuesday arrested a Ugandan man, who went to India on a student visa and overstayed for 31 years.
By Vision Reporter
THE police in India on Tuesday arrested a Ugandan man, who went to India on a student visa and overstayed for 31 years.
Police got a tip-off from Lourdu Adaikalam, a resident of Purasawalkam, who complained that his tenant, Charles Arabkoko, was behaving in an odd way.
Arabkoko had not been paying the house rent, the Indian media reported yesterday.
Inspector S Muthukumar attached to Vepery Police Station and team inspected Arabkoko’s house and picked him up for questioning.
“He failed to furnish his passport or visa. We conducted a detailed search, but could not find the documents,†Muthukumar said.
According to Arabkoko, he went to Chennai city to pursue his diploma in mechanical engineering in 1977.
He visited Uganda the following year and went back to India, but has not returned to Uganda since then. He never bothered to renew his passport or visa. At that time, he was staying at a mansion with his friends, according to Indian media reports.
In his youth, he fell in love with an Anglo-Indian woman called Caroline Cynthia and moved into a house with her. They never got married, but lived together until Cynthia died of cancer a year ago.
After her demise, Arabkoko shifted from Ottery to Purasawalkam a few months ago and stayed in a rented house.
He told police that it was a struggle for him to live in the city as he did not possess a voter’s identity card or ration card. He used to visit a church in Purasawalkam and ate the food provided by the church. He only returned home to sleep. Because he had no earnings, he failed to pay rent. This made Adaikalam complain to the police.
A senior immigration officer said: “On questioning, Arabkoko said he had come to Chennai via Mumbai. We are monitoring foreigners overstaying in the country. The local police has to conduct door-to-door checks to verify documents of foreigners.â€
THE police in India on Tuesday arrested a Ugandan man, who went to India on a student visa and overstayed for 31 years.
Police got a tip-off from Lourdu Adaikalam, a resident of Purasawalkam, who complained that his tenant, Charles Arabkoko, was behaving in an odd way.
Arabkoko had not been paying the house rent, the Indian media reported yesterday.
Inspector S Muthukumar attached to Vepery Police Station and team inspected Arabkoko’s house and picked him up for questioning.
“He failed to furnish his passport or visa. We conducted a detailed search, but could not find the documents,†Muthukumar said.
According to Arabkoko, he went to Chennai city to pursue his diploma in mechanical engineering in 1977.
He visited Uganda the following year and went back to India, but has not returned to Uganda since then. He never bothered to renew his passport or visa. At that time, he was staying at a mansion with his friends, according to Indian media reports.
In his youth, he fell in love with an Anglo-Indian woman called Caroline Cynthia and moved into a house with her. They never got married, but lived together until Cynthia died of cancer a year ago.
After her demise, Arabkoko shifted from Ottery to Purasawalkam a few months ago and stayed in a rented house.
He told police that it was a struggle for him to live in the city as he did not possess a voter’s identity card or ration card. He used to visit a church in Purasawalkam and ate the food provided by the church. He only returned home to sleep. Because he had no earnings, he failed to pay rent. This made Adaikalam complain to the police.
A senior immigration officer said: “On questioning, Arabkoko said he had come to Chennai via Mumbai. We are monitoring foreigners overstaying in the country. The local police has to conduct door-to-door checks to verify documents of foreigners.â€