India asks US to take lenient view of duped Indian students

India has asked the US to take a "lenient" view of the students duped by a California-based "sham" university amidst reports that they were forced to wear radio collars around their ankles so that American authorities can keep a track of their movements.

Maintaining that the the fraud was done by the US university, minister for overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi today said "we requested the state department to take a lenient view because all the students are innocent."

He said the university had no registration and it was not the fault of the Indian students.

Ravi said the Indian consulate general there was in touch with the local authorities on the issue and they are waiting for a report and only then they will know what assistance should be given to the students.

Duped by the authorities of Tri-Valley University, which has been shut down, hundreds of Indian students, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, faced deportation back home after having lost their student visa status.

According to a federal complaint filed in a California court last week, the University helped foreign nationals illegally acquire immigration status. The students are reported to have paid lakhs of rupees for obtaining a visa for their category and also for students' work permit.

Meanwhile, sources said the wearing of trackers was part of the procedure in cases where there was a possibility of deportation.