Washington: India has formally protested to the US over the brief detention of Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan at Boston airport as he arrived to take part in an event at Harvard University.
Khan, who is accompanying State Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for the presentation of a Harvard study on the Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, was detained for about 10 minutes for “further questioning” at Boston Logan International Airport Wednesday, according to Indian officials.
Once the visitors were cleared for entry by immigration, a woman officer of the US Customs and Border Protection wing of the Homeland Security took Khan to an adjacent room “for further questioning,” sources said.
Incensed, Khan is reported to have kicked up a ruckus in the Imigration area saying he was detained because he was a Muslim and sought an apology from the officer who merely said she was doing her duty. As arguments became heated, officials from the Indian consulate in New York intervened and Khan was escorted out of the airport.
In Washington, Indian embassy spokesman M. Sridharan said the mission has “taken up the issue with the State Department officially and we have conveyed our serious concern.”
“We have asked them to intervene and take appropriate measures to avoid recurrence in the future.”
At the State Department, when asked to comment on the incident, spokesman P Ventrell said he was “not aware of the specifics of this case” as theDept of Homeland Security has jurisdiction over airport movements inside the US. (IANS)
