A post going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claims that Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and businessman Gautam Adani are banned from travelling to the US and Canada for alleged rights violations, espionage, and financial misconduct. This post is shared in the context of recent India-Canada tensions and allegations of involvement of the Indian intelligence personnel in the murder plot against Khalistani extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US. Let’s verify the claim through this article.
Claim: Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and businessman Gautam Adani are banned from the US and Canada.
Fact: There is no evidence to support claims of travel bans against Amit Shah, Ajit Doval, or Gautam Adani. A search of the U.S. State Department’s website revealed no travel ban on Amit Shah. The latest U.S. travel ban, issued on 9 October 2024, targeted former Ecuadorian leaders, not any Indian officials. Additionally, official sources confirm there are no travel restrictions on Ajit Doval. As for Gautam Adani, the ongoing bribery case is still an allegation, and no travel ban has been imposed as yet. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We found the viral post’s source to be an Indian Herald article titled “Modi’s close aide Adani, along with Amit Shah and Ajit Doval, cannot travel to the USA or Canada”.
To verify the claim, we searched the U.S. State Department’s website for references to Amit Shah and found a 30 October 2024, press briefing. A journalist asked spokesperson Matthew Miller about allegations by Canada accusing Amit Shah of involvement in plots to harm leaders on Canadian soil. Miller called the allegations concerning and stated that the U.S. would consult with Canada on the matter.
We found a video of Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison speaking before a parliamentary committee and examined it. In the video, Morrison accuses Amit Shah of orchestrating violence, intimidation, and intelligence operations against Sikh separatists in Canada. He reportedly mentioned Shah’s name to The Washington Post but offered no evidence to support the claims.
India summoned a Canadian High Commission representative and strongly objected to the allegations against Amit Shah.
We searched the U.S. State Department’s website but found no travel ban on Amit Shah. The latest U.S. ban, issued on 9 October 2024, targeted former Ecuadorian leaders Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado and Jorge David Glas Espinel for corruption and abuse of power. Since the controversy surrounding Amit Shah’s alleged involvement began later, around 29-30 October 2024, the Indian Herald’s claim has no official basis.
To verify the claim regarding India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, we conducted a similar Google search process and found no credible evidence supporting the claim.
We reviewed the U.S. State Department’s website and found that the latest mention of Ajit Doval was in a July 2023 press briefing. During this briefing, Vedant Patel, the Principal Deputy Spokesperson, was asked about a meeting between U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Ajit Doval before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington, D.C.
We found a report by The Indian Express dated 23 November 2023, which highlighted Canadian National Security Advisor Nathalie G. Drouin’s statement. She contradicted The Globe and Mail’s 19 November 2023 claims that Canadian security agencies believed Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, and NSA Doval were aware of the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Drouin clarified that the Canadian government had no evidence linking them to the crime.
We found reports (here, here, and here) from September 2024, which reported Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani separatist, filing a lawsuit in a U.S. court accusing the Indian government of attempting to assassinate him. The lawsuit named several individuals, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former RAW chief Samant Goel, RAW agent Vikram Yadav, and businessman Nikhil Gupta. In response, the Southern District Court of New York issued a summons to the Indian government, requiring a response within 21 days. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri dismissed the allegations as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated,” with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) labelling the lawsuit as baseless.
The official clarification, along with the absence of credible evidence or allegations against Ajit Doval restricting his travel to Canada or the U.S., confirms that the viral claim is false.
To verify the claim about Gautam Adani, we found that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York filed charges against the Adani Group over an alleged bribery scheme. Gautam Adani is accused of leading a large-scale operation to secure power supply contracts. Summons were issued to him and his nephew, Sagar Adani, by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Following a grand jury indictment, arrest warrants were issued for both individuals on bribery charges, with plans to hand these over to foreign law enforcement agencies.
The Adani Group has denied all charges, describing them as baseless. The court order also noted that “The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
After reviewing the U.S. State Department’s website, we found no information regarding a travel ban against Gautam Adani. The Department of Justice has requested a response to the allegations within 21 days. As the bribery case is still an allegation and investigations are ongoing, the claim by the Indian Herald that Gautam Adani cannot travel to the U.S. is misleading.
To sum up, there is no evidence supporting claims of travel restrictions against Amit Shah and Ajit Doval by the U.S. and Canada
