After India based New Zealand origin vlogger Karl Rock alleged that his Indian visa was cancelled and he has been blacklisted by the Indian government, the govt of India has confirmed the move. According to reports, the Union Home Ministry has informed that Karl has been barred from entering India till next year as he was found violating the terms and conditions of his visa.
The MHA also stated that Karl Rock, who was named as Karl Edward Rice by the ministry, was found doing business while living on a tourist visa in India. Apart from that, he had also violated other conditions of the visa, resulting in its cancellation, said the ministry.
It is not clear what kind of business Karl was doing in India while on Tourist Visa. As a traveller, he makes videos of his travel to various places in India and uploads them on YouTube. It is possible that he makes money through advertisements in those videos, but it is known whether that has been considered as a business activity by the ministry or whether he is involved in some other business activities.
The ministry also said that Karl Rock also violated other terms of the visa norms, which can be his involvement in the anti-CAA protests in 2019. In December 2019, he had participated in a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Delhi in support of the protesters. He had made a video of the same where he had said that he supports the protests, however he has made the video private now. He was also interviewed by Times Now, where he had criticised the CAA, saying it goes against the secular character of the nation.
Earlier in the day, Karl Rock had posted a video on his YouTube channel informing that his visa was cancelled and he was blacklisted by the Indian govt when is visiting Dubai and Pakistan. His YouTube videos show that he has been living in Pakistan for past several months, and had even visited the PoK. He said that he has been separated from his Indian wife as the authorities are not willing to listen to their plea to remove him from the blacklist. He also informed that he and his wife are approaching the Delhi High Court pleading to remove his name from the blacklist.
