Ingo denied business visa to India

Ingo denied business visa to India
Preetu Nair, TNN

PANAJI: Ingo's Saturday night market at Arpora, which is a popular hotspot among locals and tourists
alike, may soon become a thing of the past.
The brain behind the bazzar Ingo Grill was served a deportation order in 2006, but managed to stay in Goa till March 4, 2009, due to a pending court case. However, Grill has now been denied a business visa to India by the Consulate General of India in Munich as he has been "blacklisted" in India.

In response to Ingo's application on March 9, 2009, to the Consulate General of India in Munich for the grant of a business visa to India, the Indian Consulate replied, "The government of India has considered your case but it is not possible to issue a visa for the purpose mentioned". The reply was sent on March 12, 2009.

Speaking to TOI from Germany, Grill, who had left the state on March 4, 2009, for Germany, to renew his visa which expired on March 7, said, "I have been orally told that I am being denied a visa because I have been blacklisted by the Indian authorities. This is a conspiracy to keep me out and take over my business and property."

"Some kind of a trick is being played on me. I came to Goa on a business visa, invested in a business and a home and now I am being denied a visa without even being heard," he added.

Grill, a German national, first came to Goa in the 70s. He set up a company called Saturday Nite Bazaar Private Limited about 8 years ago to start the night market at Arpora, on the lines of the hippie flea markets that began in Anjuna back in the 60s. The Saturday night market slowly evolved into a vibrant bazaar famous for music, food and shopping.

Grill who along with his wife also purchased property in Calangute got on the wrong side of the law in 2006, and was served a notice under Section 3/2 C of the Deportation of Foreigners Act, which gives the government powers to deport a foreign national. He was ultimately served a deportation order on February 3, 2006, as he was "suspected to be involved in undesirable activities". But he could not be deported as he filed an appeal in the court against the order. The matter is still pending in the fast track court.

Grill said, "My family is in Goa and I am in Germany. I came to renew my visa and now I am stuck. I have invested all my life's savings in Goa. If I am denied entry into India, I will lose everything."

19 Mar 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition