M Rajyalaxmi and her daughter Shravanti from New York, declared their baggage items at Delhi airport and were cleared by immigration and customs before they boarded a domestic flight to Hyderabad. However when they reached the city, they found their new iPad and a webcam worth over $900 missing from their bag.

Thieves had broken open the lock of the bag, slit sealed boxes containing electronic gadgets, and placed them back in their original position and resealed the bag. Fingerprints indicate that a person familiar with baggage movements may have committed the theft.

The family brought the theft to the notice of the airport manager who suggested they lodge a complaint by email.

[ Back to Top ]

According to a report Dubai NRIs are the victims of greedy relatives and immoral agents who are ruthlessly and unlawfully grabbing the properties of NRIs, who are then subjected to lengthy legal processes to recover the fruits of their labour.

One lawyer said he has witnessed many NRIs go through bitter tussles where their parents or siblings have grabbed their property. Sadly this has been a pressing issue for Indians living out of the country, so much so that a US-based Global Organisation of PIOs has demanded that fast track courts be established for the speedy disposal of property disputes. Kolkata, Delhi, Punjab and Kerala are lead states whose NRIs have been subjected to usurped properties by friends, families or caretakers.

The situation is so alarming that an army of property managers have emerged in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Chennnai and Kochi, whose job it is to manage the assets of NRIs. One wonders if these doyens of customer service are immune to corruption themselves.

[ Back to Top ]

It is well documented that a number of unsuspecting NRIs have been promised a great deal, then dumped into a mess made from corrupt middlemen and others.

A small example of typical malpractices include falsely inflated prices; escalation during construction; hidden costs that are 'hidden'; delayed construction; sub quality materials; and a number of other mind boggling malpractices.

NRIs are cautioned to ensure they choose the right developer, a tough task, but possible to accomplish if one uses a few guidelines such as checking the track record of completed projects; seeking references on customer service quality and research on complaints made by buyers, if any. Look for any history of litigation with a customer or civic agency. Verify all documents in original. These include a title deed, encumbrance certificate, approval of layout of the project etc.

Other cautionary measures must also be taken before taking possession of the property.

Trustworthy agents, builders, sellers and their ilk are sadly hard to find, so again an NRIs best bet is to work with a professional lawyer, banker and accountant.

[ Back to Top ]

Mohd Samiullah, 31, from Tolichowki was stopped by customs officers at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and five tolas of gold that he and his family had was seized.

He was told to pay a penalty of Rs.6000 to have the gold released and as he did not have Indian currency on him, with the permission of the officers he borrowed money from his relatives who were in the airport lobby.

He then paid the money to officials for which he was issued a receipt, and told to leave the airport. When Samiullah asked them for the gold they said they'd already given it to him. After much arguing Samiullah approached the Airport police, and when he was writing a formal complaint he received a call from his father and decided to leave without lodging his complaint. Just then the customs sleuths returned the gold to Samiullah claiming they had found it lying around at the customs check area. One police officer said even video footage from the surveillance cameras provided no clue on how the gold disappeared. The exhausted passenger and his family preferred not to invite any further trauma and left the airport.

The mysterious workings of customs officials are not uncommon. There have been several allegations of corrupt customs sleuths posted there.

[ Back to Top ]

According to a report by the Office for National Statistics a quarter of all babies born in the UK are the children of immigrant mothers from India, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria, who give birth in record numbers. Last year 200,000 babies were born to immigrant mothers.

In London where a high proportion of migrants live, the share of births to foreign-born mothers was 57 percent as the share of new babies born to migrant mothers has more than doubled in 20 years and continues to rise.

The number of babies born to British-born mothers has barely changed in the five years from 2007 to 2011, up from 603,000 to 612,000.

The report by the Office for National Statistics said understanding the impact of childbearing among migrants is essential for planning services such as maternity provision and schools.

[ Back to Top ]