Indian woman says told to strip at Frankfurt airport; Swaraj seeks report

Woman alleges profiling; says always the one singled out for her skin colour

India has taken up with Frankfurt airport authorities the matter of an Indian woman being asked to strip by the security officials during her travel on March 29.

"@CGIFranfurt has taken up this matter with Frankfurt Airport authorities. The matter has been referred to the Police for investigation," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Sunday night.

"We are awaiting report of the police investigation," she said.



 

The alleged incident prompted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday to seek a report from the Indian consul general concerned. 

"Raveesh - Plz send me a report on this. @CGIFrankfurt (sic)," Swaraj tweeted to Indian consul general in Frankfurt Raveesh Kumar.

Her tweet came following news reports based on the woman's Facebook post in which she alleged that she was strip-searched at the airport while she was on her way to Iceland from Bengaluru on March 29. 

Screengrab of Shruthi Basappa's Facebook post alleging racial profiling at the Frankfurt airport.

 

"We were travelling to Iceland from India via Frankfurt with our 4-year-old daughter when I was asked to move aside for this 'random check', no explanations offered. I was taken into a room and was asked to lift my dress/take it off so that I could be checked to make sure I wasn't carrying anything under my clothes," Shruthi Basappa alleged in the Facebook post. 

"I'm always the 'chosen one' for random security checks - pat down, baggage check, lets take you into a room for a closer pat down etc. Of course it is random. Of course it is not because I'm brown. But this happens every time. Every. Single. Time," she alleged.

Subsequently, Basappa appears to have deleted her Facebook post.