PANAJI
Russian Olympic silver medallist Svetlana Varganova, whose deportation from Goa was delayed after she refused to surrender her renewed passport to authorities, was finally deported on a charter flight early Tuesday morning.
Varganova was deported on the same charter flight that brought Russian visitors to Goa, bringing to an end a prolonged standoff between the foreign national and the authorities over completion of her deportation formalities. Varganova was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Goa in 2023 with a small quantity of drugs and was subsequently granted bail. Her case became the first in Goa to benefit from the Centre’s new policy permitting withdrawal of prosecution in specified minor cases involving foreign nationals to facilitate their deportation. The Judicial Magistrate First Class, Pernem, Shabnam Nagvekar, in July allowed the NCB to withdraw the prosecution under Section 360 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, clearing the way for her deportation. The case had, however, hit a hurdle when Varganova refused to hand over her new passport to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), despite the government sanctioning funds for her return ticket after she initially said she could not afford one.
Officials said she later claimed she would purchase a ticket herself, but only the following month. Her passport had also expired and was not in her possession. The Russian embassy subsequently issued her a new passport directly, which officials said complicated efforts to complete the deportation process. She finally booked ticket and was deported under police and immigration vigil.
