Kolkata: Bangladesh cricketer’s visa expires, allowed to fly out after Rs 21,000 fine

KOLKATA: Bangladesh cricketer Saif Hassan had to pay a penalty of Rs 21,600 before being allowed to fly home on Wednesday evening.
Hassan, a reserve opener in the Bangladesh squad that toured India for a two-Test series, was stopped at Kolkata airport on Monday for trying to fly to Dhaka without a valid visa. On Wednesday, he got the necessary visa issued by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, a senior Bangladesh government official said.
The first batch of Bangladesh cricketers returned to Dhaka on Sunday, hours after they suffered an innings defeat to India in the historic pink-ball Test match at Eden Gardens .The rest of the team members, including Hassan, walked into the city airport to catch a Dhaka flight on Monday morning. However, the authorities noticed during the issue of boarding passes that Hassan’s visa was valid only till Sunday midnight. He was not allowed to fly and had to stay back in the city.
“He got the visa to exit India on Wednesday afternoon,” the official said.
Hassan’s visa had been issued in June and was valid for six months. Neither the player nor team officials reportedly spotted that Hassan’s visa was to expire on Sunday itself, and so no step was taken to extend it. Saif had to pay a penalty of Rs 21,600. An official said the BJP-led government at the Centre had made recent changes in the financial penalty for overstaying in India for even a few hours.