Within hours of arresting about 50
foreign nationals, the Jalpaiguri police late on Saturday night nabbed
three more foreigners on charge of illegally carrying satellite phones
inside the Indian territory and thereby violating the Indian Wireless
and Telegraph Act (1933).
The district police on Saturday evening
raided the Sinclairs hotel at Chalsa in Dooars and confiscated 22 satellite phones. As many as 51 foreigners and 32 Indian nationals were
taken into custody during the raid. After a quick interrogation with
the arrested people, the police were able to nab the three.
Police sources said the three have been
identified as Lars Warden of Germany, Benoyet Maris of Belgium and Den
Mitson of England. They were presented at a district court today and
were sent to 2 days police remand.
Their lawyer Swarup Mandal said the
police have filed cases against the trio under multiple acts which
include Indian Wireless and Telegraph Act (1933), Indian Telegraph Act
(1885) and Indian Penal Code 120 –b section.
Sources said they came to India to shoot
a reality show under France-based production company Eco Line
Production House. They arrived at Chalsa on Friday after shooting in
Assam and Nagaland. Further, they were scheduled to visit Kalimpong and
Gangtok to complete the last phase of their work.
The district police superintendent Kunal
Agarwal said the police were informed that satellite phone signals were
traced from the concerned hotel in Chalsa. Reacting to the information
promptly, the police conducted a raid at the Sinclairs hotel. According
to him the accused foreigners initially refused to have any satellite
phone with them, but the police later found the gadgets hidden in one of
the hotel room.
The SP further said the use of satellite
phones is prohibited in the country and if anyone wants to use it, the
person must possess a written permission from the home ministry. But the
arrested foreign shooting team had no such permission with them. The
three people arrested today are said to be the leaders of the visiting
team, and apart from the three, rest of the arrested have been released
on the grounds that they do not leave the country until the
investigations are over.
Moreover, police are investigating the matter further to ascertain whether the foreigners were carrying them for other purposes.(EOI)