India condems US for radio-tagging students

India has condemned United States authorities for tagging Indian students who, it claims, were duped by a fake university.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishan said Indian students were "not criminals" and that radio collars put around their ankles must be removed.

American authorities have closed down the Tri-Valley University near San Francisco, suspecting it of immigration fraud.

The university has more than 1,500 students and reports say nearly 95% of them are from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, and face deportation.

"We demand that the US government initiate severe action against those officials responsible for this inhuman act," Mr Krishna told reporters in Bangalore on Sunday.

"Indian students are not criminals. The radio collars should immediately be removed," he said.

"We have conveyed to the US authorities that the students, most of who are victims themselves, must be treated fairly," the ministry said in a statement.

The students have been forced to wear the radio collars around their ankles, so that the US immigration authorities can keep track of their movements.