M A I N   N E W S

Indian detained at Paris airport
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 1
Yet another Indian has faced the western paranoia about aircraft security, this time not on account of “suspicious behaviour” but because of “suspicious” checked-in baggage.

However, he had better luck than 12 Indian passengers of the Northwest Airline who were offloaded from the plane and detained for two days in Amsterdam a day after.

A US-bound Paris-Chicago flight of Air France was just about to take off from Charles De Gaulle airport, Paris, on August 22 morning when Mr S K Sharma, a Delhi-based upcoming industrialist, was stopped at the last point before boarding. Mr Sharma was along with his son, Shivang, who is doing an under-graduation course in engineering in Michigan, USA.

Two American security personnel knocked Mr Sharma on the shoulder and asked him to accompany them. American securitymen have been deployed at all high-profile airports and they carry on the final checking of all baggage themselves.

Mr Sharma’s son had already boarded the flight. Mr Sharma was made to wear a colourful security gown and was driven in a car for about two kilometres to a place where airport authorities kept “suspicious baggage”.

He crossed two small empty iron cages and when he reached the third, he spotted his suitcase. The French securitymen opened the cage and brought out the suitcase. Mr Sharma leapt forward to open his suitcase but was sternly told to wait. The French securitymen opened the offending suitcase and took out a vial containing some liquid.

The securitymen demanded to know what it was. Mr Sharma told them, without batting an eyelid, that it was a washing gel. He even offered to give a demonstration.

Then the securitymen inquired about another article in the suitcase, a laptop, and asked him to operate it. Here Mr Sharma got stuck as he is not computer-savvy. Luckily for him, his son called him on his mobile at this time. His son gave him directions on phone and Mr Sharma was able to do the needful. Both father and son carrying their own mobiles helped them a great deal.

The securitymen -- French as well as Americans -- were now satisfied that the suitcase did not carry any deadly cargo and they radioed an all-clear message to the waiting aircraft.

Mr Sharma was driven back in the same car to the bay the aircraft was parked. Immediately after he boarded the plane, the door was closed and the aircraft took off.

“The securitymen did not handcuff or harass me, but it was intimidating. During these 35 or 40 minutes period, I was trying not to be nervous and not to look nervous,” Mr Sharma told this correspondent.

Asked whether he was dealt with roughly by the securitymen, Mr Sharma said: “They did not maltreat me. They were polite but stern.”

The moral of the story: a liquid gel and a laptop can be mistaken for terrorists’ arsenal even if they are a part of checked-in baggage.