Indian authorities have ordered actor Imran Khan, nephew of Bollywood star Aamir Khan, to leave the country by 28 October after he participated in a protest calling for electoral reforms.
Khan holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. He is an American citizen. OCI cardholders may visit and stay in India but cannot vote or contest elections.
Police said Khan took part in a demonstration at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. "Imran Khan participated in the agitation at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar," police said in a statement on Thursday.
The Foreigners' Regional Registration Office served Khan a notice for allegedly violating laws by protesting. Police also noted that "Imran Khan had participated in the agitation despite not being an Indian citizen."
Khan's lawyer said no provision of law or any rule for OCI cardholders prohibits participation in a protest. The lawyer added that the actor intends to challenge the order in the Bombay High Court. A petition filed against the Mumbai police notice described it as "drastic."
The complaint against Khan was lodged by Kirit Somaiya, a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, who accused the actor of being "involved in a conspiracy to spread anarchy in India."
Khan did not address the allegation directly but spoke to reporters about his reasons for attending the protest. "I don't have demands. I'm here as a citizen, as a person who lives in this city. I'm here to see why freedom of movement is being restricted, why people's voices are being suppressed," he said. He added that he was not present as a representative of any organisation.
Khan joined the protest on 10 October, which was called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a broader GenZ-led movement that has been holding demonstrations for days demanding electoral reforms and the resignation of India's top election official over allegations of vote fraud. India's election authority denies those charges.
Following the protest, Khan was briefly detained along with other demonstrators. He posted a photo of himself inside a police detention van on Instagram with the caption, "Apparently I'm going for a drive." The post received more than two million likes.
Over the weekend, thousands of protesters marched in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities in response to the CJP's call. On Monday, leaders of several major opposition parties, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, led thousands of marchers from Connaught Place to the Supreme Court in Delhi.
On Wednesday, two senior CJP leaders were sent to jail for five days after being arrested for allegedly trespassing at a protest site in Delhi. The CJP has called for another protest on Friday evening in the capital.
Khan is known for the 2008 romantic comedy Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and previously appeared as a child actor in films including Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992). He returns to acting this year with the Netflix film Adhure Hum Adhure Tum after a hiatus of more than a decade.
