- A group of 56 Indian travellers faced alleged mistreatment at the Sadakhlo border with Georgia
- Travellers had valid e-visas but were detained over five hours in freezing cold without food or toilet
- Officials reportedly confiscated passports for more than two hours and filmed travellers
A woman has alleged that a group of 56 Indian travellers were subjected to “most inhuman behaviour” by Georgian authorities while attempting to enter the country from Armenia.
Sharing her experience in an Instagram post, Dhruvee Patel claimed the group, despite carrying valid e-visas and documents, faced humiliation and prolonged detention at the Sadakhlo border.
According to her post, the group was “made to wait 5+ hrs in the freezing cold – no food, no toilet.” She alleged that officials “confiscated passports for 2+ hrs with no communication” and forced them to sit on the footpath “like cattle.”
The woman said the officials even took videos of them “like criminals”, but stopped them from filming the incident. She added that the authorities didn't even check documents and simply claimed visas were “wrong,” calling the treatment “shameful & unacceptable.”
In the post, Ms Patel also tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and wrote, “India must take a strong stand.”
The alleged incident took place at the Sadakhlo border, the primary land crossing between Armenia and Georgia.
Ms Patel ended her post with a sharp rebuke. “This is how Georgia treats Indians. Shameful & unacceptable!”
The post drew many responses, with people sharing similar experiences.
One user expressed sympathy but highlighted that the issue appears longstanding. “Sorry to hear that. Also this isn't the first post I've seen of Georgia. It's been bad and happening for a long time now.”
Another questioned why Indians still visit despite such reports, asking, “When this behaviour has been consistent from Georgia then why do Indians keep going there.”
Some of the comments pointed to a deeper problem of discrimination. “There have been consistent reports of racial profiling by the Georgian government,” wrote one user, sharing a link to another news article detailing Indians' ordeals.
A traveller who visited Georgia in 2019 shared a more nuanced perspective. The person recalled that before entering from Russia they “had heard similar stories about immigration”. While they were eventually granted entry and went on to enjoy a “dream visit,” but noted that “from the last many years they are creating problems for Indians, that's a sad story.”
There was no immediate response from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) at the time of filing this report.
