Israeli diplomats booked for assault

Three Israeli diplomats were charged for allegedly roughing up an immigration official at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Saturday afternoon.

However, they could not be arrested from the airport as they enjoy diplomatic immunity. The incident was captured by a CCTV camera.

The diplomats were headed for Kathmandu in Nepal when they were stopped for checking at the Terminal 3 of the airport at about 1:30 pm on Saturday.

However, they were not immediately attended by the officials as there was a rush at the counter. They went to the counter and told the officials to hurry up the process.
Finally, when an official Somveer was checking their documents, they accused him of slowing down the process.

An altercation soon broke out. One of them allegedly slapped Somveer while the other two roughed him up.

Other immigration officials present at the spot informed the police which arrived there and detained the diplomats. “They were asked about their travel plans and other details.
They said they were headed to Nepal for a diplomatic mission and were upset due to the delay which led to the confrontation,” said a senior police officer.

The CCTV footage has been recovered from the airport to verify both the versions of the incident.

The officer said a case under section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) under the Indian Penal Code was registered against the three diplomats.

He said they are looking into the incident and have contacted the Israeli Embassy to help them in going ahead with the proceedings against the diplomats.

“The diplomats could not be arrested due to the diplomatic immunity they enjoy. But we have pressed charges against them and will call them for questioning when the Central government gives us necessary clearances,” the officer said.