Amid sudden demonstrations inside the key Indian visa centre, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka has sought enhanced security, noting that such a situation should not arise.
“We have taken up this with the MoFA. We have sent the note verbale. We need enhanced security. Such a situation should not arise for us,” an Indian official at the High Commission told UNB on Monday night.
The official said today’s development does not give them any confidence, noting that they were basically returning the passports as requested by people.
Visa seekers, who went there to collect their passports, suddenly staged a demonstration at the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) at Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka, demanding Indian visas.
The Indian High Commission official said they were returning all the passports keeping their applications alive so that once the full capacity is restored, the applicants can submit their passports again.
“Since many people are asking for their passports back, we were returning those passports without rejecting their applications,” he said, adding that they need cooperation from the people
The Indian High Commission has already cleared pending medical visas.
The personnel of the Indian Visa Application Center were also "harassed" and felt "threatened" which prevented them from effectively discharging their functions in view of the threat to their safety.
Police quickly rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control within a very short time, said an official.
Vatara police station OC Mazharul Islam said around 300-400 visa seekers visited the centre since 11am and there was no vandalism. They brought the situation under control at 3pm.
A number of videos went viral on social media immediately where people were seen chanting various slogans.
"Indian collaborators, beware ... .One point, one demand - we want a visa,” they were heard chanting.
The Indian official said with unruly behavior by the crowd, they will not be in a position to have a smooth functioning, even limited scale. “It becomes a very difficult situation.”
According to media reports regarding some students who need to go to India for their issues of studying in Europe, the High Commission is trying to reach out to those students.
“We are trying to get the numbers and trying to reach them so that such an emergency situation is also handled. We can try and grant them a visa and make sure that their money and career does not get affected,” said the official, seeking cooperation from the people.
“If things like this happen, we will not be able to ensure smooth functioning of IVAC, even in a limited way,” he said.
Despite the situation, they kept the IVAC operational to help medical and emergency cases.
Indian Visa Application Center (IVAC) Bangladesh earlier said due to limited operations, the visa process may take longer time. “Hence, we are returning passports now and it will be re-processed once operations resume. The applicant will be notified via SMS to re-submit his/her passport.”
India has the largest visa operations in Bangladesh and 16 lakh people visited India last year. Of them, 60 percent visited for tourism purposes, 30 percent for medical purposes, and 10 percent for other purposes.
On August 22, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, expressed concerns regarding the safety and security of Indian establishments in Bangladesh including its High Commission in Dhaka.
During a courtesy meeting with the interim government Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guesthouse Jamuna on Thursday, High Commissioner Verma raised these concerns.
