WHERE
At the old judicial lock-up, next to the Mapusa police station
PURPOSE
Will house such 'illegal residents' until such time as arrangements are made for deportation back to their home country
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PANAJI: Finally, the Goa Government's home ministry has approved the proposal for a detention centre at the old judicial lock-up, next to the Mapusa police station to lodge foreigners, either overstaying beyond their valid visa period or staying illegally without any travel documents.
This detention centre will house such 'illegal residents' until such time as arrangements are made for deportation back to their home country.
Director General of Police Dr Muktesh Chander said the police department had moved the proposal for a detention centre to the State government several years ago and had been pursuing approval for it for a long time.
An order issued by the Home Department said: “The government of Goa hereby requires the illegal immigrants and foreign nationals awaiting deportation to reside in the detention centre at the old judicial lock-up at Mapusa next to Mapusa police station.”
It may be recalled that the Goa police department had initiated a process for designating a detention centre for overstaying tourists, some years back.
In January, the repair work of the detention site was completed. The police department has already recruited the necessary staff to man the detention centre and was only waiting for the approval from the Home department to begin with lodging foreigners there.
“It will help us deal with criminal elements from foreign countries who were exploiting the fact that there such a detention centre did not exist here”, Dr Chander said.
The requirement of a detention facility was felt in the State after a group of Nigerians created havoc along the highway at Porvorim in October 2013, following the murder of one of their countrymen.
The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and the police had then identified several hundred Nigerians residing in the State mostly without any valid papers,The issue had also snowballed into a major row between Nigeria and India but diplomatic intervention had succeeded to diffuse it.
