By Vyshnavy Velrajh
The Katunayake Airport Police have issued a summons to the individual who had caused a disturbance in the visa issuance section at the Bandaranaike International Airport recently.
The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Katunayake Airport Police confirmed to Newswire that a statement had been recorded from the individual this morning.
He further said that statements were also recorded from the Immigration Officials who were found to have been involved in documenting the incident.
The Katunayake Airport Police OIC added that investigations are ongoing into the matter.
After recording his statement, the individual seen in the viral video told the media that he had acted in such a way after seeing that opportunities that could be provided to unemployed Sri Lankan youth have been outsourced.
“It was sad to see such opportunities being given to foreign firms and also a vital system such as the visa system being outsourced to foreign companies who will make a profit out of this,” he added.
Stating that he was a Sri Lankan citizen employed in Thailand, the man further said he was also saddened to see the large gap in development between Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Refuting reports of political affiliations and sabotage moves, the man said he had raised his voice for the youth of the nation and had expressed his opinion as per his rights under the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles also said action will be initiated against the individuals involved in the recent disturbance in the visa issuance section at the Katuayake Airport.
Addressing the media today, Minister Alles said that action will be taken against the individual who had caused the disturbance, as well as the Immigration officials who had documented the entire incident.
“We have identified those who were involved in this incident. Some immigration officers had documented the incident and we have found those who were involved. I will initiate action against them. I will not allow people to sabotage development moves,” he warned.
Action is being taken against several persons after Sri Lanka’s new visa-issuing process sparked concern, following a video widely circulated on social media, claiming that the process had been awarded to several Indian companies.
In the video, an agitated Sri Lankan national claimed that Indian companies who had taken over visa processing at the Katunayake Airport were causing delays and levying extra processing fees.
At the time, the Indian High Commission also refuted reports of Indian companies taking over visa issuance at the Katunayake Airport.“Any reference to India in this context is unwarranted,” the Indian High Commission said.
Also, issuing a clarification on the allegations related to the outsourcing of the Visa application process, the government said the responsibility for on-arrival visa applications was awarded to VFS Global, a company operating in 151 countries with 3,388 centres worldwide, following assessment and approval by the Cabinet of Ministers on September 11, 2023.
Based on a proposal tabled by Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, the company was selected following the Government’s procurement process. VFS Global was chosen from two other contenders, due to its global reputation and extensive experience, with the view of streamlining the process for foreign visitors to apply for online visas, the government revealed. (Newswire)
