New Zealand blogger claims Centre blacklisted him for no reason

Travel blogger Karl Rock has accused the Government of India of stopping him from entering India and not allowing him to meet his family in Delhi.

Karl Rock, whose real name is Karl Edward Rice, hails from New Zealand but has settled in Rohini area of Delhi with his wife. Rock said the Centre has not given any reason for blacklisting his name due to which he is stuck in New Zealand now.

The blogger explores different parts of India for a living and has a Youtube channel with over 1.5 lakh subscribers.

https://twitter.com/iamkarlrock/status/1413412371792596993

On Friday (July 9), Rock posted a video message to express his anguish. He also put a tweet, tagging New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, to seek help. “Dear Jacinda Ardern, the Govt. of India has blocked me from entering India separating me from my wife and family in Delhi. They blacklisted me without telling me, giving reasons, or letting me reply,” he tweeted.

Rock said in his video message that he left for Dubai and Pakistan in October last year, but his visa was cancelled at the airport without citing any reason. In Dubai, he visited the Indian High Commission for a fresh visa, but was told that he had been blacklisted and that they “can’t issue a visa to go home to India’”.

“During this time we’ve written to the Home Ministry multiple times, Manisha (his wife) tried to speak with them at their office in Delhi, we’ve written to the High Commissioner of India in New Zealand. But His Excellency ignored me, even when I turned up to his office with my wife’s COVID positive report,” he wrote.

Rock now plans to move the Delhi High Court to get justice. “Today we are filing a petition in the high court asking for my name to be removed from the blacklist. In the Delhi High Court,” he said in a video message.