Guwahati: The Assam Police detained two US nationals in Sonitpur district of Assam on Saturday morning, accusing them of propagating Christianity without proper authorization, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Sonitpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Susanta Biswa Sarma disclosed that the individuals, who were on tourist visas, were found engaging in religious activities, a violation of the provisions governing their visa status. SP Sarma stated, “They were on tourist visas, and as per the provisions, they cannot perform religious activities or propagate religious ideologies. Hence, we called them to the police station and imposed fines of $500 each,” he told The Hindustan Times.
The police opted not to disclose the names of the detained individuals, and no formal case was registered against them.
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This incident echoes a similar occurrence in October 2022 when seven German nationals and three Swedish nationals faced detention in Assam’s Golaghat and Dibrugarh districts for allegedly violating visa norms through missionary activities. Subsequently, the police transported them to Guwahati and later deported them to their respective countries.
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