International flyers complain of harassment in the name of MCC

Hyderabad: Apparently unfazed by several complaints against them for alleged harassment of commuters and traders in the city, the police, it appears, are now ‘targetting’ international flyers.

They are allegedly harassing them under the guise of checks as a Model Code of Conduct (MCC) measure. Passengers, who arrived at the RGIA, told Deccan Chronicle that police personnel at the arrival area forced them to open their baggage.

A person, who arrived from Chicago, said that while he was passing through the arrival area after completing all necessary checks, he was stopped abruptly by men claiming to be cops.

“They asked me where I was coming from and told me to open my baggage for checking. I was told that it was a part of the election code that is in force in the city. I do not understand why passengers are subject to such harrowing times even after clearing mandatory checks at various levels while boarding and on landing,” he said.

The checks appeared to be done to make up for numbers and not to control any illegal flow of materials or prohibited items, another flyer said.

Meanwhile, a senior police official said that multiple teams from the police and other law enforcement agencies are deployed at the airport to keep track of passengers carrying prohibited articles like unaccounted cash, liquor and gold.

“It is only a verification check. If there are any reports of highhanded behaviour against the passengers, then action will be taken against personnel found guilty of such excesses,” he said.