Former Amnesty India chief Aakar Patel stopped at Bengaluru airport from travelling to US
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New Delhi: Former Amnesty International India Chief Aakar Patel today alleged that he was stopped from boarding a flight to the United States at Bengaluru airport in connection with the look-out circular filed against Amnesty.
"CBI officer called to say I am on the Look-Out Circular because of the case Modi govt has filed against Amnesty International India," he said in a post on social media. He tagged the Prime Minister's Office, seeking an explanation.
He said he was informed by immigration officials that he had been put on the exit control list by the CBI even though he got his passport back through a court order specifically for the U.S. trip.
The passport was released on payment of a deposit amount of Rs 2 lakh and other conditions like the details of travel, contact numbers, and places of visit in the US.
"I was supposed to go and speak to some universities in the US—Berkeley and New York University—and my passport had been impounded in a case that one BJP MLA had filed against me in Surat. As part of the condition of bail I had to surrender my passport," the Amnesty International chair said.
"After I had been asked by the universities in the US to speak in the US, I moved the court and got my passport back. The government opposed it. The public prosecutor opposed it and the court rejected the government argument and let me travel to the US," he said. "This CBI case refers to my being the head of Amnesty India. They raided us in November 2020. The case is being prosecuted in the CMM court at Rouse Avenue," he added.
The former journalist's passport was impounded after a case was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi over his social media comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Surat police filed a case under sections pertaining to promoting disharmony among communities.
In October 2018, Amnesty India properties in Bengaluru were searched by the ED in a case where the Amnesty International India Foundation Trust was accused of trying to dodge Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules, after being denied permission/registration under FCRA by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Amnesty was accused of creating a commercial arm called Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd to receive foreign funding in violation of FCRA rules.
Following the ED probe the Income Tax Department "sent investigative letters to more than 30 small regular donors" about funding the NGO which "adversely affected the fundraising campaigns of Amnesty International India," according to the NGO. Subsequently, in November 2019, the CBI filed a case against Amnesty International India Pvt. Ltd (AIIPL), Indians For Amnesty International Trust, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust, Amnesty International South Asia Foundation, and others over the alleged fraud.