IGI airport immigration officer held for harassing woman flyer

New Delhi: An immigration officer who had allegedly harassed a woman passenger at Indira Gandhi International Airport here last month by asking her objectionable questions has been arrested by Delhi Police.

The arrest of the accused, identified as Vinod Kumar, came last night after police recorded the Bengaluru-based victim's statement before a magistrate in which she corroborated her allegations against him.

"Kumar was arrested last night. Our team went to Bengaluru, where we got the victim's statement recorded before a magistrate under Section 164 CrPc with her having corroborated the sequence of events. Following this, Kumar was arrested," Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGIA) MI Haider told PTI.

Police added that Kumar was later released on bail. An FIR was registered in this connection at IGIA Police Station under Sections 354A, 354D and 506 after an email complaint was received from the woman regarding the alleged incident which took place on the evening of March 19.

Kumar is alleged to have asked the woman some sexually explicit questions while checking her passport and other travel documents after she reached Delhi from Bengaluru on her way to Hong Kong.

In her complaint to police, the woman alleged that she was "verbally sexually" harassed by Kumar.

"I would like to complain about an immigration officer who verbally sexually harassed me not only during the immigration process at the desk but also by following me along the travelator between domestic and international transfer. This happened on March 19 at 9.30 P.M.," she had said in her complaint.

She also alleged that Kumar asked her many unpleasant and private questions at the immigration counter.

According to the complaint, she was asked questions like "how many children do you have; do you drink; do you smoke; do you eat chicken; do you sleep with other men when your husband is at work". He is also alleged to have asked whether she had undergone a surgery for birth control and if she would like to have her third child with him.

The father-in-law of the victim, a former head of a Karnataka commerce and industry body, in his online complaint mailed to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, Delhi, said that his daughter-in-law had lodged an oral complaint on her return from Hong Kong on March 23 at the airport along with her husband and son.