Sixty-four-year-old Thai citizen Isa Abdullah Salam, who left Bangladesh for Saudi Arabia on his bicycle aiming to perform the Islamic pilgrimage of Umrah in the holy city of Makkah, was denied entry to India on Wednesday.
When he reached the Benapole port in Jessore, the Indian immigration office sent him back to Bangladesh as his visa did not mention the bicycle.
Isa Abdullah Salam left for Dhaka without delay at Benapole port.
Confirming the news, Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole Checkpost Immigration, said Isa Abdullah Salam was advised to use the air route instead of the road.
Isa Abdullah Salam flew to Dhaka from Thailand on January 17. He reached Magura on January 21 evening via Manikganj, Rajbari and Faridpur by cycling. He offered Maghrib prayers at Parnanduali Beparipara mosque in Magura town.
Salam left Magura on the morning of January 22 on his bicycle. Then he reached the Benapole checkpost on Wednesday.
Isa Abdullah Salam alias Boonnom Punyoyai resides in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand.
Salam said he left Buddhism at the age of 25 and converted to Islam.
He had already performed Umrah twice, and for his third Umrah, he decided to go to Saudi Arabia riding on a bicycle.
After that, he started the process of collecting visas for different countries. He came to Bangladesh after getting all the visas he needed.
His bicycle journey started in Bangladesh. He wanted to reach Makkah in Saudi Arabia via India, Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
After performing Umrah, Salam wanted to return to Thailand by bicycle through Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.
He said he has a wife at home and they have no children.
Salam said although his home is in the border area of Myanmar, he came directly to Bangladesh by plane due to the instability there.
Mentioning that he likes to travel, Isa Abdullah Salam said this time he came up with the plan of performing Umrah by bicycle visiting a dozen countries in Asia.