Woman asked to take off shirt for security check at KIA

BENGALURU: A young woman on Tuesday evening alleged on social media that she felt humiliated after being asked to remove her shirt by security personnel at Bengaluru airport. Security agencies said they would check CCTV for details and asked why she had neither lodged a complaint with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) or the airport police station.

The tweet did not give details of the airline, her destination or travel date. Krishnani Gadhvi, who calls herself a student and performing musician, tweeted on Tuesday evening: “I was asked to remove my shirt at Bengaluru airport during security check. It was really humiliating to stand there at the security checkpoint wearing just a camisole and getting the kind of attention you’d never want as a woman. @BLRAirport Why would you need a woman to strip?”

Airport operator Bangalore International Airport Limited expressed its regret for the “hassle caused”. “We have highlighted this to our operations team and also escalated it to the security team managed by the CISF.” They also asked her to message her contact details.

BIAL is yet to respond to TNIE’s request for their response to the issue. Aaryan Aarya, a lawyer, responded through his tweet: “That’s so unbecoming of an airport and its security team. Security is prime, but don’t use it to humiliate people. Sickening!”

Meanwhile, a top security official said that nearly a lakh passengers are screened daily at the airport. “Every part of the airport is covered by CCTV. So if the incident is a recent one, we can retrieve it and go through the footage. It is only an allegation without any specifics. Why is the individual tweeting the experience to the world instead of registering a complaint with the CISF or police?”

He added, “The passenger will be asked to remove anything that screening personnel feel is a hindrance to security check. It could be belts, jackets, coats or shoes.”