Overstaying foreigners will be deported: Goa CM

Panaji, June 28 (IANS) Foreigners who overstay in Goa will be detained in a newly-instituted detention centre, before being deported to their parent country, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Sawant said that rehabilitation of Goan youth would be a priority for his government, along with cracking down on the narcotics industry in the coastal state.

"I have told the police, that the overstaying foreigners should be sent to the detention centre. All these people will be put in detention centres first and they will be deported. No one will be spared," Sawant told reporters at the State Secretariat.

According to police records more than 100 foreigners - a large chunk of which comprises of Russians and Nigerians - have been arrested by the police for overstaying in Goa.

Several of them are linked to narcotics-related offences over the last three years.

However, the deportation process cannot be started until their trial concludes, which realistically further lengthens their stay in India.

In May, the state government started a detention centre for foreigners in Mapusa town, located around 15 km from Panaji, which serves as a transit home for overstaying foreign nationals, before they are deported to their parent country.

Sawant also said that he had directed the police department to submit a report on youth involved in drug related crimes, saying his government plans to rehabilitate them.

"If youth are involved in drugs, then their rehabilitation is my government's responsibility. We will come up with ways to rehabilitate them," Sawant said.

Known as a top beach tourism destination, Goa has also been infamous as a hub for drug use.