Complaints of harassment at the hands of immigration authorities are not new in India, but this time the victim of alleged harassment was no other than British actor Orlando Bloom, who had to travel twice between Delhi and London within 24 hours. Rex Orlando was turned away & sent back to the UK The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was after forced to become involved to ensure he might fly back on the Sun.
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Bloom was invited by the top elected official of Uttar Pradesh state to promote tourism. He applied for an e-visa and arrived on Saturday without realising there was a problem with his application.
“A visa was issued after Sushma Swaraj’s reported intervention after which Bloom finally landed in Delhi on Sunday”.
While Bloom’s office was allegedly not notified about the rejection, he was to be hosted by Samajwadi Leader Amar Singh on his trip to Taj Mahal. He was then deported back to the United Kingdom at 4am.
Amar Singh who came along with the actor from New Delhi airport said, “The officer in charge of immigration, a certain Mr Prabhakar, was extremely rude to Orlando who was actually unwell but he didn’t pay any heed to that”. His office was never informed that the visa has been rejected for whatever technical fault and they are not used to the intricacies of the Indian system.
Singh clarified that he is not criticising the federal government and its coverage for immediate motion, however he wasn’t comfortable concerning the method by which it occurred.
Vikas Swarup, Official Spokesperson and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “When one applies for an electronic visa, one receives a mail saying whether the visa has been issued or rejected”. The doctor on duty was summoned to attend to him but soon after, he was asked to leave. “The traveller is meant to hold it alongside to supply to the immigration officer for scanning”. What would happen if Shah Rukh Khan lands in the U.S. without a visa?
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Orlando Bloom and Sheetal Talwar’s friendship goes way back in time when she worked on a film called Romans with him.
