Heather, a UK-based hiker, was detained while on her way to Rishikesh for carrying a Garmin inReach GPS device banned in India.
A UK-based hiker was detained at the Delhi Airport for carrying a Garmin inReach GPS device banned in India. Heather, who goes by the name Hiker Heather on Instagram, was detained while en route to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand.
Posting her experience on Instagram, Heather warned other travellers not to carry devices like Garmin inReach or any satellite communicator to India. “They are illegal here,” she said, sharing a video from the airport where she was detained.
At around 10.30 this morning, when I was getting through security here at Delhi airport with the hope of taking a domestic flight to Rishikesh, I innocently stuck my Garmin Inreach in the tray to pass over the scanner. At that moment, security seized me and told me to wait, Heather said in a posting on her page.
After being told that her device was illegal, Heather contacted the embassy, which could not intervene in legal proceedings. “I was eventually taken to the police station, where I was questioned, in a fairly friendly manner, and made to sign document after document.” I didn’t take the ‘no comment’ stance, foolishly or not; it is my nature, /to be honest, and after all, there was no intent on my behalf,” she said.
