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Abdul Raouf Rahimi, a refugee from the Herat province in Afghanistan, came to India on Aug 13, 2016 (9 months ago), and had Rs 2.5 Lakhs with him then. He was making arrangements for his Mother's treatment in New Delhi, who was living in Afghanistan. His mother sold their land in Afghanistan in Oct 2016 for Rs 10 Lakh, which she got converted into Indian currency immediately through a money exchanger in Afghanistan. She wasn’t aware of the demonetisation when she got the currency exchanged. Rahimi calledher when he found out that Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes had been scrapped and told her to transfer money online but both bank managers and money exchanger refused to do so. Hospitals in Delhi had assured Rahimi that the demonetised currency was acceptable as legal payment for medical treatment. Unaware of the limit on cash imports, his mother came to India on Nov 21, 2016 (post demonetisation) for her Medical treatment and brought Rs 10 Lakhs with her.
Tragedy struck the family when customs seized her cash, when she landed at the New Delhi airport, since the currency she carried (old 500 and 1000 Rupee notes) were not a legal tender anymore, and that the amount being carried by her exceeded Rs 25,000/- (limit a foreigner can import). Rahimi's mother only speaks Persian, and was hence unable to declare the cash because she couldn’t understand the language she was being questioned in,by the customs. Post seizure of money, she was compelled to leave India after four months.
After losing the huge amount, Rahimi lost another 2 Lakhs due to the fine imposed on her mother for exceeding the travel cash limit.
He hired a lawyer for Rs 25,000/- to help them out, but the lawyer wasted their time and resources for 3 months. Rahimi kept running around Delhi, appealing to National Human Rights Commission, and several govt. ministries but no help has been forthcoming. As his financial woes worsened, his family was evicted from their apartment in Delhi on Apr 5, 2017 and they had to spend 2 days on road. Another refugee couple from Afghanistan offered them shelter at their home, but due to pressure from their landlord, Rahimi along with his family had to vacate the room as well. Ever since then, they have been living on a pavement outside UNHCR office in Delhi for the last few days.
Tragedy struck the family when customs seized her cash, when she landed at the New Delhi airport, since the currency she carried (old 500 and 1000 Rupee notes) were not a legal tender anymore, and that the amount being carried by her exceeded Rs 25,000/- (limit a foreigner can import). Rahimi's mother only speaks Persian, and was hence unable to declare the cash because she couldn’t understand the language she was being questioned in,by the customs. Post seizure of money, she was compelled to leave India after four months.
After losing the huge amount, Rahimi lost another 2 Lakhs due to the fine imposed on her mother for exceeding the travel cash limit.
He hired a lawyer for Rs 25,000/- to help them out, but the lawyer wasted their time and resources for 3 months. Rahimi kept running around Delhi, appealing to National Human Rights Commission, and several govt. ministries but no help has been forthcoming. As his financial woes worsened, his family was evicted from their apartment in Delhi on Apr 5, 2017 and they had to spend 2 days on road. Another refugee couple from Afghanistan offered them shelter at their home, but due to pressure from their landlord, Rahimi along with his family had to vacate the room as well. Ever since then, they have been living on a pavement outside UNHCR office in Delhi for the last few days.
Source: The Wire
