Actor Imran Khan Asked to Leave India by October 28 After Mumbai Protest
Imran Khan actor faces an October 28 deadline to leave India after the FRRO issued a notice following his participation in a Mumbai protest on October 10.
Actor Imran Khan has been asked to leave India by October 28 after participating in a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Mumbai, according to a report by Hindustan Times on Thursday.
India’s Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Mumbai issued the notice following a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya, who questioned the actor’s participation in political demonstrations despite reportedly holding a US passport and an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
The protest took place on October 10 at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai Central. Demonstrators from the Cockroach Janta Party demanded Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
A Mumbai Police official told Hindustan Times that the notice had been served to Khan, who lives in Mumbai’s Khar area and holds an OCI card. The FRRO regulates the registration, movement, stay and departure of foreign nationals in India.
Somaiya had asked police to verify Khan’s citizenship and questioned whether a foreign national should participate in political protests.
Khan, who was born and educated in the United States, said during the demonstration that he had attended as a citizen concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement and the suppression of public voices.
The actor, his girlfriend Lekha Washington, his mother Nusrat and his niece Zayn were among approximately 400 people detained during the protest.
Following her detention, Zayn alleged in a video circulated on social media that police had assaulted and manhandled her. She displayed bruises she said she sustained during the incident.
Authorities have not been reported as providing further details about the notice or Khan’s response to it.
