'Asked to remove shirt': Woman claims after security check at Bengaluru airport

A woman traveller at the Bengaluru international airport alleged that she was forced to strip at the security checkpoint, describing the incident as ‘humiliating’.

A woman on Tuesday alleged that she was asked to take her shirt off during the security check at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport, and described the experience as ‘humiliating’. Narrating her ordeal on microblogging site Twitter, she questioned why the Bengaluru airport needs a woman to strip.

Passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. (Image for representation) (livemint.com)

She added that she got unwanted attention after having to stand at the security checkpoint wearing only a camisole.

“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?” Krishani Gadhvi, a student and musician, wrote on Twitter.

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This got the attention of several internet users, including the Bengaluru airport. Assuring that the issue has been escalated to the security team, the airport expressed their regret, replying, “Hello @KrishaniGadhvi, we deeply regret the hassle caused and this should not have happened. We have highlighted this to our operations team and also escalated it to the security team managed by CISF (Central Industrial Security force) a Government sovereign.”

They also asked for Gadhvi's contact information to uncover details of the incident. “Kindly DM your contact details for our team to connect with you at the earliest,” they wrote in a separate tweet.

A social media user also replied, “That’s so unbecoming of an airport and its security team. Security is prime, but don’t use it to humiliate people. Sickening!”

The woman's account has since then been deleted on Twitter. The Bengaluru airport's response to her original tweet is therefore not visible either.

BJP's Lok Sabha member from Bengaluru Central, P C Mohan, however, said that the claims were false.

In a tweet, P C Mohan said, “Claims of a woman asked to remove her shirt during a security check at the Bengaluru airport are false.”

Citing sources from CISF, he added, "the woman was wearing a denim jacket with badges and beadings" and was "frisked privately with a female companion present."

It is not clear if Gadhvi was travelling domestically or internationally. The Kempegowda International Airport is screening international flyers for Covid-19, having made home quarantine mandatory for those travelling from six countries including China and Japan.