Mumbai Customs is once again under scrutiny after a passenger filed a police complaint stating that officers harassed him and made derogatory comments about his community.
๐จ๐น๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ
Ulhasnagar resident Manoj Valecha, 33, has written to the commissioner of customs complaining of racial and castiest comments by front-line officials.
Valecha was about to board Indigo flight 6E 1794 to Bangkok on Wednesday morning when he received a call from his home about a medical emergency. He decided not to travel and informed the airline accordingly. The airline had his baggage unloaded and asked him to proceed to the arrival hall. There, according to Valecha, two officers accosted him.
๐๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
โI politely explained to them that it was a medical emergency. Both officers were drunk and rude. They made derogatory comments about my Sindhi community and described Ulhasnagar residents as smugglers,โ Valecha told FPJ on Saturday.
โThe comments were unwarranted. I felt deeply hurt and decided to file a police complaint against the two officers,โ he said.
๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐บ
Valecha said the officers threatened to implicate him in a drugs and currency smuggling case.
โThe officers threatened to book me in COFEPOSA [Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974] case. They forced me to undergo a full body X-ray scan without my consent and in violation of Customs Act,โ he said.
Sahar police has recorded his statement and is conducting an investigation.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐
Confirming the complaint, customs officials said that a vigilance inquiry will look into the incident. โPrima facie the passenger was not harassed or humiliated, as alleged. Customs officers were performing their duty and questioned the passenger. He was allowed to go after a baggage check,โ said one officer. โThe passengerโs antecedents were verified and baggage checked for any duty evasion, as per customs rule.โ
The customs department has lately been hit by a series of complaints against men in white over misbehaviour, harassment and extortion.
