Sunday July 17 2005
HOSUR: Based on a direction from the Madras High Court, Hosur police have initiated action to deport a Christian priest from India, who had been illegally living in the country.
South Asian regional headquarters of the Christian missionary - Seventh Day Adventists - is located at Hosur. David Ron Watts, a Canadian national, is heading the South Asian division of Seventh Day Adventists.
Ron and his wife Dorothy Watts have been living in India on the American business visa. According to the Indian Emigration Act, an American business visa holder can stay in the country for 180 days without any registration.
It is alleged that Ron and his wife were involved in converting people into Christianity in several parts of South India. Based on complaints against them from various quarters, the Ministry of Home affairs issued a deportation order on the couple and sent it to the TN Government in 2003.
But the priest did not act upon the Home Ministry order and continued to live in India, particularly in Hosur.
In the meantime, a petition demanding eviction of Ron from India was filed in the Madras High Court recently.
Subsequently, the Madras High Court ordered Krishnagiri district police to evict Ron from the country. But it is said that the priest and his wife had disappeared from Hosur.
