DAVANAGERE: Davanagere MP Dr Prabha Mallikarjun, who brought the issue of the eight members of the Hakki Pikki tribal community stranded in the African country of Chad to the notice of Union External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, has succeeded in getting them repatriated to India. Mallikarjun told The New Indian Express on Thursday, “I brought the visa issue of eight people belonging to the Hakki Pikki community in Karnataka, who were stranded in Chad, to the attention of Jaishankar and got the issue resolved.” She said the group of people, two from Davangere district, five from Shivamogga and one from Chikkamagaluru, were facing arrest following the expiry of their visas. Dr Prabha said the external affairs ministry immediately got in touch with the Indian embassy, which in turn has made arrangements to have the visas of the stranded persons renewed without penalty. Their visas expired on December 22, 2025, after which the local police asked them to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh each for visa renewal. It was said that the police had also warned them of imprisonment if the fine was delayed.

Source: Indian Express February 06, 2026 03:22 UTC