India’s envoy to UN Hardeep Puri frisked at US airport

NEW DELHI - India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Hardeep Puri, is the latest to be subjected to a pat down, raising the hackles of New Delhi.

Puri, who was subjected to a turban pat down at Houston Airport, was held back for half an hour in a separate enclosure by the authorities.

He refused to allow US officials to carry out their search on his person.

This incident comes days after India’s Ambassador to the United States, Meera Shankar was patted down by an American security agent at the Jackson - Evers International Airport in Mississippi, despite being accompanied by a US security official as per diplomatic norms.

Former diplomats in India have reacted aggressively to the Puri incident, saying that if Washington not to change its policy or searches, diplomats from the United States should also be ready to face such security in India.

They also called on the governments of the two counties to meet and resolve the issue at the earliest. (ANI)