Panaji: A Mapusa court on Tuesday sentenced 19-year-old Ugandan national Nabukalu Catherine to one month and 25 days imprisonment after Calangute police found her staying in India without valid documents in March.The court also fined her Rs 5,000 after she pleaded guilty to violating provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.Before accepting the plea, the court informed Catherine of the consequences, including imprisonment and fine, and clarified that no leniency could be expected merely for pleading guilty. Though granted time to reconsider, she stated that her plea was voluntary, informed and made under legal advice.The court accepted the plea, observing that she was “honest enough to plead guilty at the first available opportunity”. It ordered that the period already spent in custody be set off against the sentence.The court directed the FRRO to arrange her deportation and asked Calangute police to follow up.
