India’s Ambassador Frisked at US Airport

Legal News India: India’s ambassador, Meera Shankar, was pulled out of the airport security line and frisked at the Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US. Hands-on search was conducted on even after Shankar revealed her diplomatic status. Reports claim that Shankar was on her way back from an event at the Mississippi State University and was about to fly to Baltimore. She was singled out because of her Indian outfit – sari. 

An Indian Embassy official said that Shankar was led to the VIP waiting room even after the staff was told about her status. The Indian embassy based in Washington strongly protested against this incident. 

The External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said, “This is unacceptable to India and we are going to take it up with the US government and I hope things could be resolved so that such unpleasant incidents do not recur.”

In their defense, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said that diplomats are not exempted from frisking.