A woman named Dhruvee Patel has alleged that a group of 56 Indian travellers were ill-treated by Georgian authorities while attempting to enter the country from Armenia. Narrating the harrowing experience she faced in an Instagram post, she claimed the group, despite furnishing all the relevant documents, was "made to wait 5+ hrs in the freezing cold – no food, no toilet."
According to the post, officials "confiscated passports for 2+ hrs with no communication" and made them sit on the footpath "like cattle."
The post further claimed that the officials made videos of them "like criminals", but barred them from capturing the incident.
According to her, the authorities didn't bother to even check documents before claiming that they had "wrong" visas. She described the treatment as "shameful & unacceptable."
Tagging the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and several influencers and a media house, she wrote, "India must take a strong stand."
The reported incident occurred at Sadakhlo border crossing, which serves as the main land route connecting Armenia and Georgia.
Ms Patel concluded her social media post with a stern criticism, stating "This is how Georgia treats Indians. Shameful & unacceptable!"
Her post generated numerous replies from people who shared comparable experiences.
One commenter offered support while noting this seems to be an ongoing issue, saying "Sorry to hear that. Also this isn't the first post I've seen of Georgia. It's been bad and happening for a long time now."
Several comments suggested systemic discrimination exists. One user wrote "There have been consistent reports of racial profiling by the Georgian government" and included a link to another news story about Indians facing difficulties there.
The Ministry of External Affairs had not issued any statement so far.
