UK cricket official upset over ‘treatment’ at IGI

New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a British official and the head of disability cricket and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was allegedly misbehaved with and humiliated at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Thursday during a security check at the hands of security personnel.

The foreign national took to the social media platform Twitter and voiced his anger over the issue. Ian Martin, the ECB’s head of disability cricket, was on an official visit to Delhi with his team to participate in Blind Cricket World Cup.

In his tweet, Mr Martin said, “Being disabled in India is interesting. Learnt today that my scooter is a security risk. Thanks for stripping me of dignity at Delhi airport.”

This correspondent took a note of the complaint and reported the matter to the concerned authorities, who in turn promised to look into the matter immediately. Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, Mr Martin couldn’t be reached for his reaction on the same.  

“The rules do not exempt the screening of prosthesis or any physically disabled person, so we have no choice but to check them. We are following the norms and guidelines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and we deal with our passengers with respect and dignity. In this case, our conduct was as per the law,” said a senior CISF official on the condition of anonymity.

“We are highly trained professionals and we treat all our passengers with dignity but we have to make sure to follow all the security procedures as per the law and one should cooperate with the security personnel,” the official added.

Earlier in September last year, Aditya Mehta, the two-time para-cycling silver medallist at the Asian Paralympics 2013, also alleged that he was also strip-searched twice within a span of days at the Delhi and Bangalore International airports. The para-cyclist felt humiliated and slammed the authorities for their insensitivity.