The Controversy Surrounding Australian Journalist Avani Dias Explained

Avani Dias, the former host of the current affairs show Hack on the youth radio station Triple J, has received recognition in the form of journalistic awards, including the Public Interest Award at the New South Wales Premier’s Multicultural Communications Awards in 2019. She recently published a video report on YouTube regarding India’s alleged involvement in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, a claim made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Nijjar, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most wanted terrorists, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia. India has refuted the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Avani Dias took to social media to express that she was asked to leave India abruptly and was not allowed to cover the Lok Sabha elections. She claimed that the Modi Government informed her that her visa extension would be denied, citing that her reporting “crossed a line.”

After intervention from the Australian Government, she was granted a two-month visa extension, less than 24 hours before her scheduled departure. However, Indian authorities disputed her claims, stating that she violated visa rules and was assured an extension for election coverage despite this.

They emphasized that her assertion of not being permitted to cover elections was incorrect and clarified that covering election activities outside of booths is permitted for all visa-holder journalists. According to official sources, the notification about her visa extension came 24 hours before her planned departure from the country.

Australian officials have expressed that Avani Dias chose to leave India of her own volition, despite the Indian authorities’ extension of her visa. The Australian High Commission conveyed their satisfaction with the Indian government’s subsequent grant of a visa for the journalist, even though she had already opted to leave India.