Can I return to India

April 2010 I was in India and was involved in a scuffle with a street vendor outside my hotel. When I returned to the hotel later in the day the manager said that the vendor was going to make trouble for me, so I changed hotels. Three days later I left India without incident; however, when leaving Dubai I was detained before boarding my flight. I assume the vendor, or police, got my passport details from the hotel. Finally, an Indian man came and spoke with the airport staff and I was allowed to leave. I have been to Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong since and have never been delayed again. How can I tell I can return to India without being questioned?

you can come back to india... if there is no police case registered on you .. last time when you were detained if they had not given you any slip or if they had not asked you to sigh on any paper .. you can come back...
theese small things really does not matter . you are welcome back with appropriate formalities

For what reason(s) did you draw a correlation between a scuffle with a street vendor in India & being briefly 'detained' in an international airport in Dubai?

It would be extraordinary, even unbelievable, that a street vendor's complaint in India would have you questioned in Dubai. Not only would the guy not have the kind of reach necessary to involve immigration or customs officers in another country, but the system just isn't that efficient.

because it was the first time I have ever been "detained" while traveling, and the fact the airport staff was speaking to an Indian national led me to believe it was the incident in India...

Thanks for the reply!1

So what were the details of this detention?

I was processing through passport control and they called an official, not police, just nicely dress man, and I was escorted to a waiting area. After several minutes I saw the guy speaking to a well dressed Indian man and then I was allowed to leave. I asked why I was delayed, and the guy said "no problem" and I was sent on my way. The vendor was constantly harassing me, trying to sell me something called "gangha". After repeated attempts to get past him, I did shove him, but not too hard. He went off on me and I just walked on... I am worried that he may have a connection in the police department or something. I love India and want to return, but don't want to be detained or arrested on arrival for something I did not do.. Although, I will admit shoving the guy away was wrong, I am the foreigner and should have just ignored him...

There's no way the two events are connected.

If you even have a whiff of a pain-killer, let alone ganja in Dubai you are in deep trouble. Dubai and MEA airports are crazy about schedule {A<H,B,Z} whatever prescription drugs let alone ganja

I sure hope not... Maybe I should contact the Indian embassy here and give them my visa number to be sure there is no issue... I just don't want to end up in detention; -0

No -- stay out of the system.

White guy with backpack transits from India through Dubai to the US . . . I don't know what you look like, but the street vendor assumed (because of your age, race, and perhaps your "look") that you would be interested in drugs.

People who fit your profile are going to invite scrutiny in airports.

I had to wait two hours in security in Miami, and missed my connection to New York, when I was flying back from Bogota a few years ago.

Watch a few episodes of "Locked Up Abroad" on the National Geographic Channel, and this will all make sense.

Was it Ganga gel? If so, then it's just holy water. Was this in Delhi or Varanasi?

It was actually in Puri.. I had just been to see the Jagannath and konark temples. As much as I like India, I was glad to get away from Puri...