Cabbie in Biden's motorcade drops off passenger at UAE President's hotel

The cab driver, during duty hours, picked up a regular customer and went to drop him off at Taj Mansingh, where the UAE President is staying

A private cab designated for the use of US President Joe Biden's motorcade attempted to enter the hotel where the UAE President was staying.

After security personnel stopped the Ertiga car, they discovered that the cab driver was dropping off one of his regular clients at the Taj Mansingh in central Delhi before reporting for duty at ITC Maurya, according to The Indian Express.

A security agency official said that the Ministry of External Affairs has hired several private vehicles for the carcade of Biden, and the US has bought up 60 cars of its own.

The official said, "The Haryana-registration bearing car was part of the advanced carcade of Biden. The car had several stickers indicating its affiliation with Biden's motorcade and was expected to be at ITC Maurya, where the US President was staying. But on Saturday morning, the driver received a call at 8 am from his regular passenger, who asked him to drop him off at the Taj Mansingh hotel. The movement of Biden's motorcade was scheduled to start around 9-9.30 am, and thus he decided to drop his regular passenger."

The official added that the driver picked up the passenger from Lodhi Estate and when he went to drop him off, he was stopped by security personnel. "A message was flashed on the wireless set by the security personnel and they had to intervene and stop the driver from entering the hotel premises," the official added.

Security personnel at the hotel verified the car's details with their counterparts at ITC Maurya, who confirmed that he was a part of Biden's advanced carcade, according to the Indian Express report.

The official said that the driver and businessman were questioned by the official of intelligence agencies, and "he claimed that he was unaware of the protocol and that it was wrong to go outside during security duty".

A senior security establishment officer said that the chief of protocol of the MEA was informed about the incident and the car was removed from Biden's motorcade. Security officers removed all stickers from the car, and both the driver and his client were let off without legal action.