Guwahati, Oct 30: Assam police has initiated a major crackdown of foreign nationals coming on tourist visas found engaged in religious activity.

On Friday, seven German nationals were detained for violating visa norms, and recently three Swedish nationals were deported after they were found to be engaged in religious teaching.

Assam Police Special DGP (Law & Order) GP Singh told media persons, “German nationals had tourist visas and were engaged in religious activity. For religious activity there is provision of different visas.”

The German nationals were restrained by the Golaghat District Police as they attended religious missionary gatherings in parts of Assam without a permitted visa. They were fined USD 500.

They attended religious gatherings in Tinsukia, Karbi Anglong and halted in Golaghat. They had other plans to visit different areas, but they were stopped by the Assam police. The Germans have been identified as Asmus Merten, Bloemlisa Aimee, Von Oheimb Cornelia Elisaveth Friederike, Hinrich Andreas, Michael Erich Schaper and Olearius Chrisia Dorothea.

Recently three Swedish nationals Marcus, Hanna and Susanna were deported after paying a fine of USD 500 each for Visa violation to Stockholm by Qatar on Thursday.

Following the arrest of 17 Bangladesh nationals allegedly for violating visa norms, Assam police has recently stated that there is increasing tendency by clerics for violating tourist visa norms and holding religious meets in remote areas. The Assam government has written to Centre about these frequent violations of tourist Visa norms by Bangladeshi clerics.

The police are again going to write to the Union Ministry of External Affairs.

Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta recently said, “There is a tendency especially some Bangladeshi Mullas they come in, the moulavis etc they called or invited. And they come on tourist visas and they come and we find some mashvara (religious advice) that they do, you have some of the Bangladeshi people coming in on tourist visas and doing things that are not very nice. In fact, radicalisation is being spread wrongly using tourist visa”.