In what would appear a classic scene from The Theatre of the Bizarre, Rediff.com columnist Aakar Patel was permitted to travel to the US.

But wait, Aakar Patel, the former head of Amnesty India, was forbidden from leaving the country!

Dominic Xavier wonders whether the desi version of the Keystone Cops are in charge and if they take these terrifying, strange, decisions.

• Aakar Patel's Columns
• Dom's Take