A CISF constable was forced to undress and search a female passenger at the Guwahati airport. The CISF on Thursday suspended its female constable for searching an 80-year-old woman who had undergone a hip transplant after stripping her clothes.
The woman had reached the popular Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati with her granddaughter and was to catch a flight to Delhi. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is responsible for the security of the Guwahati airport and 64 other civilian airports in the country. In its official tweet, the force said, ‘The safety and dignity of the passengers in need go hand in hand. CISF has already started investigation into the unfortunate incident at Guwahati airport.
“The personnel concerned have been suspended,” the force said. The Deputy Inspector General of CISF has spoken to the passenger. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also reacted to the complaint by tweeting. “He is also looking into the matter,” he said. The CISF tagged (name mentioned) the woman’s daughter Dolly Kikon in the post who had complained through Twitter and tagged the force and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and others.
Kikone had tweeted, “My 80 year old mother at CISF Headquarters was asked to undress during the CISF security check at Guwahati Airport. Security personnel wanted proof of his titanium hip implant and forced him to undress. Is this how we treat senior citizens? He said in another tweet, ‘This is disgusting. My 80-year-old handicapped mother was forced to take off her lingerie and get naked. Why? Why?’
CISF officials said the security personnel concerned asked the woman to remove her lower body clothing as the metal detector made a beep and indicated it was metal. “As per preliminary information, the CISF personnel on duty followed the standard operating procedure prescribed for such situations,” he said. “After indicating that it was metal, they asked the female passenger to be searched and part of the hip implant to confirm the woman’s claim that she had undergone surgery,” the senior official said.
However, it is being investigated whether the personnel did not treat the passenger with respect or any other lapse, he said. Officials said the CCTV footage of the airport was reviewed in the CISF control room and it was found that the woman came out after being checked within two minutes.