Indian student arrested in US faces deportation for spreading Hamas propaganda

WASHINGTON: An Indian student was arrested in the USA for pro-Hamas propaganda. The arrested is Badar Khan Suri, a research student at Georgetown University in the US. Badar was arrested by immigration officials from his home in Virginia on Monday night. They identified themselves as officials from the Department of Homeland Security and told him that the government had revoked his visa. Badar is also accused of having links to terrorists.

'Badar Suri promoted antisemitism on social media. Suri has close ties to a senior advisor to Hamas. Since Suri's activities originated in the United States, the Secretary of State issued an order on March 15, 2025, ordering his deportation,' Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said on social media.

Dr Badar Khan Suri is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He received his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi.

An Indian student whose US visa was revoked after she participated in pro-Palestinian protests and took a pro-Hamas stance had voluntarily returned home the other day. Ranjani Srinivasan, a research student at Columbia University, returned to India from the United States. The US has accused Ranjani of being part of the protests in support of Hamas. With this, her visa was revoked.

Programmes were organized on campuses in the US to express solidarity with Hamas. As part of this, the administration has intensified surveillance on foreign students. Following this, the US decided to take strict action against Ranjani. Ranjani Srinivasan was a research student at the School of Architecture under Columbia University. Ranjani came to Columbia University for research after completing her graduation from the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology in Ahmedabad and her master's degree from Harvard University.