Stateless man arrested for stunt driving, OPP says
A convicted weapons and cocaine trafficker with no citizenship who is fighting to stay in Canada was nabbed for stunt driving by provincial police over the weekend.
Deepan Budlakoti, 25, whose fight against deportation has recently seen campaign-style signs asking for Justice for Deepan, was arrested Saturday afternoon on a charge involving speeding in a rented sports car on his way back to Ottawa from visiting a friend near Casselman.
Ontario Provincial Police allege he was travelling 165 km/h along Highway 417, where the posted limit is 100 km/h, when Const. Pierre Étienne Campeau caught the alleged speeder with his radar gun.
Budlakoti’s rental vehicle, a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro, was impounded for seven days, and police suspended his licence for the same period. In a news release issued Tuesday, OPP said he was “arrested and charged” — which Budlakoti disputes.
“It’s a ticket,” he told the Citizen. Budlakoti said he plans to pay the ticket but might contest it in court because he says police showed him no proof he was travelling the speed they allege.
OPP Const. Cynthia Savard told the Citizen that Budlakoti was in fact arrested under the Highway Traffic Act for stunt driving and that the ticket he was issued offers no set amount. He must appear before a judge in L’Orignal before he can decide whether to pay the fine, which will be set by the judge, Savard said.
The alleged traffic violation comes just months after the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in July eased the conditions of his deportation order while he fights it. Original conditions mandated that he “keep the peace,” but the board ruled that was too vague and ordered instead that he report to border officials within 48 hours of any arrest, accusation or conviction.
Budlakoti said Tuesday his updated conditions demand he report to RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency only when he has been arrested. He contends no such arrest took place on the weekend.
The board, in July, said Budlakoti was still a flight risk and a danger to society but eased his conditions for his good behaviour “compared to that of his troubled youth and early adulthood.”
Budlakoti previously called the restrictions on his movement “stressful.” They required he regularly report to the CBSA, not travel long distances and be available at the whim of immigration officials.
Budlakoti, born in Ottawa in 1989, has lived only in Canada. His parents were Indian citizens who worked at the Indian High Commission and got Canadian citizenship two decades ago. Children born to foreign diplomatic staff aren’t Canadian citizens by birth.
Budlakoti learned of his citizenship status in 2010 when he was sentenced to three years in prison for weapons and drug trafficking. The serious nature of those convictions resulted in a deportation order, but Indian officials refused to take him. He had earlier convictions for breaking and entering.
Budlakoti has previously said he has paid his debt to society and should be able to move on in the only country he has ever known.
“Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone should have the ability to move on in life,” Budlakoti said. “You do a criminal offence, you do your time, you do parole, probation and then you move on with life. But if you are dealing with immigration, it’s a whole new game. You are being punished again for the same offence.” Several of his hearings are still pending.