Mumbai: An immigration officer at Mumbai airport played Taliban-style moral police recently, questioning a woman on why she was travelling alone. Worse, he held that if she had been allowed to go backpacking alone, her family background was questionable.
Two months ago, a 21-year old Indian woman planning to backpack across Europe had the misfortune of walking up to this officer's desk and facing a barrage of uncomfortable questions to clear immigration. She was due to board a flight to Abu Dhabi from where she had to take a connecting flight to Paris.
"I was not only treated rudely, but also insulted and humiliated. In the end, before stamping my passport, he said that I should not go crying to the Indian embassy if something untoward happened to me," said Aditi Prakash (name changed on request).
On her return to India on June 10, Aditi sent a complaint to the immigration authorities. An investigation is on into the incident that took place in the wee hours of May 17.
Read News In Full 20/07/13 Manju V/Times of India
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