I was treated like a criminal, says Negar

"I was treated like a criminal," Bollywood pin-up girl Negar Khan has said.

Negar, a Norwegian citizen, was deported from India on February 7 by Indian immigration authorities for working without a valid employment permit.

Speaking to Gulf News, she said she was hopeful her husband would do all to help her return to India soon.

"The immigration officials just put me on an Emirates flight from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. I was in Dubai for 10 hours before flying to Norway," she said.

Negar, who shot to fame with her music video Chadti Jawani in 2003, has also acted in Bollywood movies Shadi Ka Ladoo and Rudraksh.

She contacted Gulf News on Tuesday from her home in Norway to tell the story that led to her deportation.

"I am sure there is more to my deportation than meets the eye. The whole thing took me by complete surprise. For the past three years, I have been coming to India and no one questioned me. Though my origin is Iranian, I grew up in Norway, but I am an Indian."

"Now all of a sudden, I have been thrown out of the country. When I applied for a visa with the Indian Embassy in Norway six months ago, they gave me an S1 visa and I was told I was entitled to work on that visa.

"I travelled to India on that visa. I married Indian model-actor Saahil Khan on September 21 and got it registered in the court. The issue of violating visa rules cropped up when I went to the Indian Foreign Registration office to register.

"They looked at my papers and I was straightaway informed I had violated Indian visa regulations. I was also informed that an S1 is a visit visa, valid for six months and not an employment visa." Visitors to India cannot work on S1 visas, Indian authorities in Mumbai said.

"I was shocked because the Indian Embassy in Norway had told me exactly the opposite. They informed me that an S1 visa also serves as an employment visa. When I told the officer at the Foreign Registration office about it, they just ignored me completely. They did not even respect my passport. "Everybody in India knew that I was working. Why did they not come before and question me, I had been there for the last three years. Why now? Before I could react, four female immigration officials grabbed me, put me in the car and took me straight to the airport. They did not even give me time to pack my clothes. They even took my phone.

"When I tried to resist, I almost fainted. They had to put me in a wheelchair. What surprised me was that when I reached the airport, my ticket was already booked and ready," she said.