Two Indian Nuclear Scientists Denied Australian Visa

The Times of India
Mar 17, 2008

MELBOURNE: Two Indian nuclear scientists were denied Australian visa last year on "health and character" grounds as Canberra feared they could access information that may assist "India's weapons of mass destruction programme", a media report said on Monday. Barring of the two Bhabha Atomic Research Centre officials - Dipankar Mukherjee and Mohd Afzal- is revealed in documents held by a Melbourne-based company GBC Scientific that has been involved in a dispute with the government over its equipments export, which Australian officials claim can be used in nuclear weapons programme, The Age reported. Documents disclosed that the two officials were refused short-stay business visas in April to finalise the purchase of an X-ray machine from GBC's laboratory though the machine was not subject to any export controls. However, in a letter to GBC, Australian Immigration Department refused to divulge reasons for denying visas to the Indian officials and stressed the importance of applicants meeting "Australia's health and character standards".