KL Police order probe into arrest of IT experts

KL Police order probe into arrest of IT experts

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian police on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the mass
arrest of Indian IT professionals for alleged visa irregularities
which has soured relations between the two countries.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Dell Akhbar Khan said the probe
would be given top priority, the official Bernama news agency
reported.

"We want to clear the air over the issue by carrying out a
complete investigation even though our initial investigation did
not indicate any wrongdoing," Dell said.

New Delhi warned on Wednesday that the issue was affecting
relations between the two countries, which have strong economic
links.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said the
diplomatic mission in Kuala Lumpur had made a fresh demand for an
explanation of last Sunday's mass arrests.

"We have reiterated our request for quick answers," Sarna
said. "It is causing a shadow on bilateral ties."

Dell's pledge of an inquiry came as more than 100 Indians
caught up in the police raid prepared to leave the country,
according to a spokesman for the group.

"Some 40 of those who were raided have already left Malaysia.
A hundred more have booked tickets to leave," software engineer
Srinivasan Shanthi Muthu told reporters.

He was speaking after handing over a copy of an appeal for
action to the government-backed Human Rights Commission of
Malaysia (Suhakam).

The appeal, signed by some 150 of the more than 200 arrested,
called on the Indian High Commission here to "take necessary
action to protect Indian residents with valid visas in Malaysia."

Srinivasan said the Indian professionals were rounded up on
Sunday morning, handcuffed and made to squat in the carpark of
the police station for 10 hours, charges denied earlier this week
by local police.

"They also damaged our visas, saying they were not valid," he
said.

When immigration department officers arrived at the police
station, they verified the authenticity of their documents with
scanners, he said.

Srinivasan further alleged that Malaysian police had over the
past year habitually harassed the Indian expatriate community in
his area, asking to see visas and work permits and demanding up
to 100 ringgit (US$26) at a time from each person regardless of
the documents' validity.