Deported Indian national was manhandled - Secretary

Executive Secretary of Jai Mai Communications Limited, George O. Dankwa whose boss, Mr Ashok Kumar Sivaram, has challenged his ‘’unlawful’’ deportation, has given an account on how the applicant was deported.

Speaking in an interview with Kwabena Agyapong, sit-in host of Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he said, his boss was not given a fair hearing and was picked from his residence and sent straight to the airport and was asked to board a plane and asked not to return to the country again. He said, my boss was manhandled by officials at the Immigration Office.

Explaining the circumstances leading to the deportation, he said, on the 1st of June, 2017, some officials from Immigration Service stormed our office looking for Ashok on the guise of embarking on a routine inspection. I tried to engage them but they insisted on seeing Ashok.

He [Ashok] later arrived and they asked him to bring his passport. After taking his passport, they asked him to follow them to the Immigration office.

He [Ashok] wanted to go with his car but they asked him to join the Immigration car. They spade off but I followed them and asked him to call me wherever they took him. Later, I called his line but no one picked the call.

When I arrived at the office, I was not allowed to enter with my car. I did not see Ashok again till date. I was asked to wait because the director was in a meeting. So I called his lawyer Gary Nimako, but he was out of the country.

So he asked someone to represent him and when his representative arrived, we were told that the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery ordered his immediate deportation.’’

He added, ‘’they arrested him at 8am on that day, and he called me around 11am that he was at the airport and being deported. He was not allowed to take anything with him.’’

A case has been brought against Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery and the Comptroller General of Immigration, Kwame Sakyi by an Indian national who is contesting his deportation from Ghana.

The applicant, Mr Ashok Kumar Sivaram, who had lived in the country since the year 2000, is accusing the two officials of unlawfully deporting him over unsubstantiated claims.

The suit revealed that the “the Applicant was deported from Ghana on the said morning of 1st June 2017 without any notice to him or being offered the opportunity to be heard on the allegation of forgery leveled against him.”

“The Respondents carried out this operation without regard to the presence of the Applicant’s business interest in Ghana that employs one hundred and sixty (160) people out of which one hundred and thirty (130) are Ghanaians and thirty (30) are Expatriates. Again, no regard or consideration was given by the Respondents in spite of the pendency of the case in the High Court, Commercial Division and the Order for a valuation process to be undertaken by Ernst & Young to enable the Court proceed with the matter pending before it,” the suit explained.

The suit indicated that “the Applicant was arrested as if he was a common criminal on 1st June, 2017 and immediately deported from Ghana without regard to the Orders of the High Court made on 5th May, 2017 for the valuation of Jai Mai Communications Limited.”

At the last hearing, the court ordered the Attorney General to file their response after failing to respond appropriately.

Presiding judge, Justice Kweku A. Boafo ordered the A-G to file her response today [Monday] so he will hear the matter on Tuesday.