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Security officials bundled the elderly people to a room
Couple deported to City from Paris
Bangalore, August 28, DH News Service:
Little did an elderly couple from Hassan, who set out from Bangalore on their maiden trip to Finland three days ago knew they would be bundled back to the City after being subjected to thorough humiliation on an alien soil.
The helpless couple is now approaching the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi to highlight their harrowing experience.
Agriculturist K N Ashok Kumar (59) from Hassan and his 45-year old wife Meenakshi Amma set out on August 25 from BIA airport planning for a one-month stay at Tampere in Finland with their son. Plans went for a toss the minute they landed at Paris Charles De Gaulle airport, from where they had to take a connecting flight to Finland.
The minute they landed at the airport, security officials demanded the invitation letter sent to the parents by their son, K A Darpan, employed as a software engineer at Nokia in Finland. “As we had already handed over the letter to the embassy at Bangalore to procure the visa, we expressed our helplessness to give it,” explains Ashok Kumar.
The couple jotted down the mobile number and e-mail address of their son on a paper and handed it. However, the officials rudely tore them up and threw it away. Ashok Kumar then called up his son to explain their plight and urged him to send all documents by fax, which Darpan did so immediately. “They then snatched my mobile and bundled me and my wife to a big prison-like building inside the airport. We were dumped in a room,” the agriculturist said.
Tickets advanced
The couple were asked to sign something written in French. “Though we were given proper food, they kept ordering us to shut up when we attempted to say something,” he added. “The next morning, police came to our room at 6.45 am gave us tickets to visit Bangalore and escorted us till the gate on a return flight to the City,” Kumar added. “The return tickets we had booked for September 25 had been advanced by nearly a month to August 26 and we were sent back. We understood later that the signature was in connection with the tickets,” he added.
Before boarding the flight, the couple had asked for their mobile. “A few officials joked that the phone had been returned to us. They threw all the contents of our luggages out under the guise of checking for it and finally returned our mobile,” fumed Ashok Kumar. The detention was thoroughly illogical. “If they had any doubts of us bearing the H1N1 virus they should have conducted tests. But no tests were done in that connection,” he observed.
One explanation Darpan was given was that the duo were in possession of merely 250 Euros and could have been mistaken to be very poor to visit Finland.
This is outrageus behaviour by French airport officials to humiliate an old couple. Have they no manners? They should be brought to book. I request the media to shout loud & bring this to light and demand apology. Darpan I share your anger and shock....Please dont give up and fight for justice.
We represent thousands of Parents of NRIs who live in India. We are concerned with their welfare and social needs.
We were appalled and shocked to know the humiliating treatment that the NRI Parent had to face at Paris Charles Degaulle International Airport. The matter is expressed in detail in the attachment to this e-mail.
We would be thankful if appropriate action is taken to see that such avoidable incidents do not recur and some respect and courtesies are shown by the police at the airports to the citizens of India.
We will appreciate early reply.
Madhusudan Mehta
Vice President
Federation of NRI Parents Organizations(CONRIPO)
President NRIPA Gujarat, Vadodara
Visit our website for detail presentation made to concerned authorities.
WOW! what was our consul general or the ambassdor doing in france?! partying?!! come on give us another one,Govt of India amd mms.I feel so sorry for the parents! my my my can thee west treat parents(senor citizens) Indians this rude and arrogant manner?Hey human rights people this is also a human rights violation, any takers?!
Dear Mr.Darpan , i really feel sorry for you & your parents for this unfortunate incident .I hope we can do the same to Europeans ,Americans visiting India , atleast they could have respected their old age , approached them politely .These bloody white skin racist people will never change ! We need to teach them a lesson properly .About taking action , whos their to support our cause except GOD , bcs our politicians are busy being puppets , slaves for these people ....
This is very bad treating a old parent like this, even recently Sharuk Khan was also treated badily , imagine when the foreginers come to India , if we treat them how will they feel , i really pitty the old age parents who treated badily this should be taken up higher commissioners. Darpan take actions create hungama , everyone should know this and brought to light . dont worry abt your parents they will surely come and meet you , if not Finland there are beautiful places on world to work . think dear
