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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of India said that the immigration authorities have no role in stopping a Nepali citizen at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Shambhavi Adhikari, who was heading to Berlin, was later sent back to Kathmandu. “The incident has been wrongly portrayed as bias/discrimination against Nepali citizens,” the MHA said. In a statement released by it on Saturday (November 1, 2025), the Ministry clarified that the Indian immigration authorities have no role to play in this entire episode. “The said passenger arrived from Kathmandu by Air India and was transiting through Delhi. She was stopped while boarding the connecting flight of Qatar Airways. It was the airlines which decided not to let her undertake her onward travel to Germany, considering her visa validity and flew her back to Kathmandu,” the MHA said. “This is usually undertaken in accordance with the destination country's rules/requirements. She then rescheduled her travel dates and later travelled taking another route from Kathmandu,” it added. The Ministry further said that the International transit passengers are not required to approach Indian Immigration for their onward journey, and this is a matter between the airlines and the passenger, with absolutely no role of Indian immigration authorities. “India values its strong relationship with Nepal and reassures that no Indian authority has any bias or discrimination against citizens of Nepal,” it added.
