3 Swedish nationals accused of preaching at Assam church held, fined US $ 500

GUWAHATI: Three Swedish nationals were apprehended on charges of violating their visa conditions and preaching Christianity in Assam’s Dibrugarh district on Wednesday. They were released after they paid US $ 500 each ( ₹41,500) in fines, a district official said.

According to the police, the three were identified as Marcus Arne Henrik Bloom, Hannah Mikaela Bloom and Susana Elisabeth Hakanason. They arrived in India on October 19 and reached Assam on October 24.

“We had information that they were involved in missionary activities and were preaching at a church in Namrup. Based on the information, we collected photo and video evidence and found the allegation to be true,” said Dibrugarh superintendent of police Shwetank Mishra.

“Since they arrived on tourist visas, it was a violation of visa norms. It was also found that they violated Section 14 of the Foreigners Act (for actions in violation of visa conditions). Based on that, they were apprehended,” he added.

Mishra added that as per existing provisions for violation of visa conditions, the three were fined and released.