A passenger travelling from Bangalore to Hong Kong via New Delhi has alleged that she was harassed by an immigration officer at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital.
The incident took place on March 18, when the victim went to the immigration office to get her passport cleared for her travel to Hong Kong.
"On March 18, I was travelling from Bangalore to Delhi and then from Delhi to Hong Kong. When I was transferring from domestic to international, I went to the immigration office to complete my immigration process," she told ANI.
The victim further stated that after being asked routine questions, the officer started asking her some personal questions, which made the victim uncomfortable. After she left the counter, the officer followed her and finally accosted her.
"He finally overtook me and started asking questions like do you smoke, do you drink or do you eat chicken. He then asked, 'when your husband is away what do you do'? Do you have fun with other men? Are you going to Hong Kong to have fun with other men? Are you going to stay with your husband? Then he asked if I would be the mother of his third child?" she said.
"I was in shock and I was fear, then I called a friend of mine and spoke loudly saying that the immigration officer is asking me questions like these. When I spoke like this he was in fear and he left me," she added.
The victim then went ahead with her schedule and left for Hong Kong. While returning, the victim and her husband went to the immigration office in Delhi to lodge a complaint.
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"When I was returning back with my husband we stopped the immigration in Delhi and complained against the officer with Assistant Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (AFRRO) Alok Kumar Verma. He said that the complaint has to be filed online and cannot be handwritten - only then would they look into it," she said.
The victim is now disappointed with the fact that she has not received any reply from the airport authorities and has vowed to take the matter forward.
"Three days back my father-in-law wrote to the authorities and we haven't received any reply and he is looking to take it forward," she said.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Home Affairs sources state that the immigration officer involved has been suspended, with departmental action being taken against him.