Canada denies visa to former IB, Army officers

NEW DELHI - Just days after Canada refused visa to a retired Border Security Force (BSF) official on the charges of involvement in human rights violation, two more incidents of denial of visas by the Canadian Home office on the same grounds have come to light.

A retired Lieutenant General A S Bahia who served as a member of Defence Appellate Tribunal has alleged that Canadian Home office refused to grant him a visa because he had served in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lieutenant General (Retd) Bahia has also said that the Canada has also alleged that his unit the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was involved in human rights violations.

Lieutenant General (Retd) Bahia has written to Union Government on the issue.

Lieutenant General (Retd) Bahia commanded a Rashtriya Rifles unit when he was a Brigadier.

The second case involves a former Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer who has also been denied a visa because the Canadian Government believes he would indulge in spying in their country.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has strongly opposed the act of Canadian authorities through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The issue first came to light when the Canadian High Commission denied a visa last week to a retired Border Security Force (BSF) trooper Fateh Singh Pandher on grounds that he was associated with ‘a notoriously violent force.’

Earlier, a private news channel quoting Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said that the MEA has taken up the matter with the Canadian High Commission.

“We have expressed concern and we continue to take this seriously,” Nirupama Rao said. (ANI)