New Delhi, July 21 (Inditop.com) Holding that the frisking of former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was “absolutely unpardonable”, the government Tuesday ordered an inquiry and issued notice to Continental Airlines for its “willful violation” of Indian laws, even as the Delhi Police registered a case against it. The US carrier justified its action, saying it was in accordance with procedure.
“We have received a complaint and have registered a case,” Joint Commissioner of Police Satyendra Garg told IANS of the incident in which the airline allegedly flouted civil aviation norms by subjecting Kalam to a full body check – the former president was even asked to remove his footwear as he waited on the aero bridge of the Newark-bound flight at Delhi airport recently.
It was not immediately clear under which section of law the case was registered and how many people were named in the first information report (FIR) registered at the Indira Gandhi International Airport police station.
Highly placed sources said the case has been registered under the omnibus Aircraft Act.
On its part, Continental Airlines said frisking was the procedure mandatory for all carriers flying to the US and said there was no exemption to this rule.
“As all carriers flying to the US, Continental Airlines must follow the requirements and procedures of the US Department of Homeland Security. This procedure is followed by all carriers flying to the US from most of the countries in the world and there is no exemption to this rule,” the airlines said in a statement.
Laurent Recoura, senior country director (India), Continental Airlines, said: “We believe that Dr. Kalam was not offended and we would like to thank him again for flying with us.”
But the Indian government reacted sharply and ordered an inquiry into the incident after it created waves in parliament.
“The frisking was absolutely unpardonable,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel said in the Rajya Sabha. “Action will be taken in accordance with the sentiments of the house.”
The statement came after MPs from across the spectrum expressed outrage over Kalam being reportedly subjected to a full body check and even asked to remove his footwear as he waited on the aerobridge of the Newark-bound flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) recently.
“Continental Airlines has been issued a showcause notice under section 11A of the Aircraft Act for wilful violation of the law,” Patel said.
“The frisking or action per se was absolutely wrong. The former president and other such dignitaries are exempt from such frisking,” Patel pointed out.
After Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley had raised the issue in the house during zero hour, Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan said: “It is the unanimous sentiment of the house that this is a very serious matter. I hope the government will take note and take appropriate action.”
Patel also denied reports that security operations at the airport had been outsourced. “Security has not been outsourced. It is still the responsibility of the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force). This incident involved the security of the airline at the embarkation point,” Patel pointed out.
The Congress also said the incident must be probed to find out the reasons why it happened.
“We certainly need to look into it and find out why it happened,” Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury said it was an unfortunate incident and wondered if it had something to do with Kalam’s name.
“I believe they do not acknowledge that he was the former president of the republic of India and if someone like that is considered to be a security threat, it’s very unfortunate. I really don’t know whether this has something to do with the name as well, in which case it is much more serious,” Yechury told reporters.
