Farhan Azmi, the husband of actress Ayesha Takia, has claimed that he was subjected to racism and ‘dirty sexual comments’ by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Goa airport. On Twitter, he claimed that an armed male officer at the security desk attempted to ‘physically touch’ him and tell his wife to stand in a different line. Farhan stated in a series of tweets that he will file an official complaint and, if necessary, take the matter to court.
“Dear @CISFHQrs, I was boarding for Mumbai on @IndiGo6E 6386, 18:40 hrs flight and these racist officers R P Singh, A K Yadav, commander Rout, and senior officer (SP category) Bahadur purposely singled me and my family (wife and son) immediately after they read out my name out loud to team,” Farhan wrote.
“Altercation started when an armed male officer at the security desk tried to physically touch and tell my wife, son to stand in another line while all other families were standing together for security. All I said to him is to dare touch any female here and maintain distance @CISFHQrs,” he tweeted.
“It didn’t stop here! Senior officer Bahadur then signaled the @CISFHQrs guard with his hand who was ready to frisk me. This racist **##** made a dirty sexual comment while he was checking my pockets which had only a ₹500 note (video on record ). @CPMumbaiPolice @aaigoaairport,” he added.”I demand an inquiry via CCTV footage from the @aaigoaairport @CISFHQrs @goacm @CPMumbaiPolice and suspend all these officers immediately, take cognizance of this matter & refrain from posting such illiterate/racist & ill-mannered officers, especially from a tourist airport like Goa,” he also said.”Within minutes he gathered 5 other officers including a senior named Bahadur who instead of resolving the issue, identified me with my boarding pass and pushed me saying ‘isko udhar karo, ye Maharashtra nahin hai (take him there, this isn’t Maharashtra)’, went on to announce my name to all of them and refused to let me through,” Farhan wrote in his tweet.
He said, “I will be filing an official complaint and my legal team will take this to the court if necessary. Shame on such officers who disrespect the uniform to satisfy their racist egos @CISFHQrs @AAI_Official @aaigoaairport @goacm @samajwadiparty @DrPramodPSawant @abuasimazmi @rais_shk.”A day later Goa Airport tweeted, “We regret the inconvenience caused to you and family while traveling. Please be rest assured this matter shall be duly looked into.” He replied, “Thank you for your prompt response @aaigoaairport. This was highly embarrassing and disturbing to go through with my wife & son around. I will be taking this up legally as well. Appreciate your message.”
On April 5, he tweeted, “Just had a word with DG Sheel Vardhan Singh @CISFHQrs. Mailing him my complain & hoping he acts accordingly within 7 days failing which I will take this up legally as well. Requested for a copy of the CCTV footage also. Thank you everyone for coming out and supporting this.”
DIG Anil Pandey, on the other hand, has dismissed Farhan’s allegations and stated that the CISF is a “professional force.”
Speaking to The Print he said, “We (CISF) deal with over seven lakh passengers per day at the airport, how many such complaints or allegations have ever been made? He was just asked to follow the security protocol and none of the officers passed any racist remarks. The CISF is a very professional force and deals with people on a daily basis. The officers never indulge in any altercations or arguments as their job is to ensure security and that the protocol at the airport is followed.”
“There were other people also, who complained of him breaking the queue. And the personnel on duty merely asked him to follow the queue. This is when he started arguing and then called it racist. If someone chooses facts with a spin of this nature, then it is sad,” the DIG added.
