An Auckland builder is incensed that his two-year-old son and wife were treated like criminals when they were banned from India and sent back to New Zealand.
New Zealand boy Bachint Vir Singh and his Indian-born mother, Shubhneet Kaur, were not allowed into India when they arrived in New Delhi during the week, despite having valid tourist visas, because they were listed as possible terrorists.
They were returned to New Zealand but were delayed in Auckland for four hours by customs officers and questioned after their names appeared on a terrorism blacklist.
"My wife and baby boy were treated like criminals," said Ranvir Lali Singh, in The New Zealand Herald today.
Mr Singh is a builder, justice of the peace and secretary of the Auckland Sikh Society.
"My son is just a two-year-old baby and my wife is a housewife.
"It is so ridiculous to even suggest they can be terrorists or pose a threat to India's security," he said in the newspaper.
He said in Auckland his wife was repeatedly questioned by several people about why she and her son were denied admission into India and every item of her luggage was searched.
Mrs Kaur, 35, left the airport in tears. She had lived in New Zealand for 12 years and has been a citizen since 2003. Her son was born in New Zealand in August 2007.
They were going to India for a relative's wedding and to visit the toddler's sick grandmother.
"They have done absolutely nothing wrong, and how they have been treated is inhumane and unfair. This will not be the end of it," Mr Singh said.
A Customs spokesman said the Auckland delay had been caused by several factors, including language issues, changing of shifts for officers and delays in checks and processing.
