US citizen held at Chennai airport for voting in Tamil Nadu assembly polls

Chennai: A 64-year-old US citizen was detained at Chennai International Airport on Friday night by immigration officials on suspicion that he illegally voted in the recent state assembly elections. With this, immigration officials have secured at least 18 foreign nationals at different airports across Tamil Nadu, and have handed them over to the respective police stations.The latest passenger, identified as Kishore, arrived at the airport to board an Emirates aircraft to Dubai, from where he was scheduled to travel to the US. During routine immigration checks, officials noticed that his left index finger bore the indelible ink used to mark voters during elections.Kishore told police he cast his vote at the Virugambakkam constituency. As he was travelling on a US passport and had acquired American citizenship, officials treated the act as a violation of election rules. Immigration authorities cancelled his trip and initiated steps to hand him over to the Central Crime Branch police in Chennai for further action.The arrest comes amid an intensified crackdown on foreign citizens of Indian origin who allegedly participated illegally in the state assembly elections following intelligence given to the Election Commission of India. Following the alert, immigration authorities at airports, particularly in Chennai and Madurai, were instructed to closely inspect departing international passengers for the indelible ink marks.The state's chief electoral officer, Archana Patnaik, was not available for comment, despite repeated attempts.