New Delhi: Farhan Azmi, husband of actor Ayesha Takia, alleged that CISF personnel hurled “racist” remarks while he was waiting with his wife and son to board a flight to Mumbai at Goa airport.
In a series of tweets posted Monday, Azmi claimed that he and his family were singled out from the check-in queue after his name was called out. The CISF has denied all allegations as “baseless” and hit back saying it was Azmi who picked an argument and flouted the rules.
Azmi is affiliated with the Samajwadi Party and is the son of Abu Asim Azmi, a Maharashtra MLA from the party. He also claims to be a restauranteur and boasts of running several hospitality brands. On Twitter, he describes himself as a “constitutional activist”.
Sharing his allegations on social media, he wrote, “Altercation started when an armed male officer at the security desk tried to physically touch & 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 & maintain distance.”
He further accused the officer of hurling “dirty sexual comments” and “racist” remarks while frisking.
It didn’t stop here! Senior officer Bahadur then signalled 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 pic.twitter.com/DbJyGiv85M
— Farhan Azmi (@abufarhanazmi) April 4, 2022
“Within minutes he gathered 5 other officers including a senior named Bahadur who instead of resolving the issue, identified me with my boarding pass & pushed me saying ‘isko udhar Karo, ye Maharashtra Nahin hai’, went on to announce my name to all of them & refused to let me through,” he claimed.
Azmi also tagged the official Twitter handles of CISF, Goa Chief Minister and Indigo on his post to amplify his complaint and demanded a probe “via CCTV footage” from the airport.
Speaking to ThePrint, DIG Anil Pandey denied the allegations as “baseless” and said that Azmi was “just asked to follow the queue when he picked an argument”.
“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, he said.
The argument, Pandey said, happened while Azmi along with other passengers was proceeding for boarding.
“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,” he said.
(Edited by Monami Gogoi)
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