Mark Scialla, a U.S.-based freelance journalist, who was covering the Sterlite issue in Thoothukudi after coming to India on a tourist visa, was deported on Tuesday.

Superintendent of Police Murali Rambha said he issued a ‘Leave India Notice’ in his capacity as the Foreigner Registration Officer of the district.

According to the police, the foreigner left for Madurai by road around 7 p.m. He would be taking a flight via Hyderabad and Doha to the U.S.

Mr. Scialla was given 48 hours to leave the country. He checked out of his hotel on V.E. Road, which was under surveillance for the last two days.

On Sunday, Mr. Scialla, who has contributed to The Guardian and Al Jazeera English, among other news outlets, was grilled by the police for several hours after he was found visiting villages around the Sterlite plant, where heavy security has been deployed following the anti-Sterlite agitation.