Indian govt cancels OCI cards of family, friends

WASHINGTON: India has decided to cancel the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards of Wesley and Sini Mathews, an Indian American couple awaiting trial in the US for the death of their threeyear-old adopted daughter. The government has also cancelled the OCI of some relatives and friends of the couple.

The OCI card, which foreign citizens of Indian-origin can apply for, facilitates visa-free travel to India and rights of residency.

The government cited national security concerns and the impact of the case on relations with a foreign power for cancelling the OCI cards of the Mathews, their relatives and friends.

Manoj N Abraham and Nissy T Abraham, friends of the Mathews, were among the first to receive a notice of cancellation of their OCI cards, which they have challenged in the Delhi high court. Others on the list include Wesley’s parents, according to a note sent to the counsel for the external affairs ministry by the Indian consulate in Houston.

The note said Manoj Abraham and Missy Abraham will be “informed that the consulate will recommend that their names will be recommended for insertion in the ‘Blacklist’ maintained by the Government of India at the earliest.”

Indian-origin foreigners can apply for regular Indian visas if they don’t have OCI cards. But the “Blacklist” prevents them from being issued simple visas to travel to India.