Bengaluru Airport staffer arrested for sexually harassing foreign woman passenger
Bengaluru: In a concerning incident, a staffer attached to Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru was arrested on charges of misbehaving with a foreign woman passenger, said police on Thursday.
The accused staffer allegedly committed the act under the pretext of checking the passenger.
According to the police, the arrested person has been identified as 25-year-old Mohhamed Affann Ahamed. The victim had arrived at the Bengaluru airport to travel to South Korea. The accused reportedly told her that a beep sound was coming from her bag and claimed that she needed to be checked privately.
He allegedly informed her that if she went to the regular checking point, she would be delayed, and on that pretext, took her near the men’s restroom. Under the guise of conducting a security check and manual frisking, the accused allegedly touched her private parts and hugged her tightly. The complainant stated that he touched her chest multiple times. The accused also allegedly asked her to turn around and again touched her private parts.
The foreign woman passenger strongly resisted the act, following which the accused, sensing trouble, fled from the spot, allegedly saying “thank you” to the victim before leaving. Subsequently, the woman lodged a complaint with the airport security staff.
The authorities immediately took the accused into custody and handed him over to the police. The woman, who had arrived in India on a tourist visa in November, was returning to her country at the time of the incident. The incident was reported from Terminal 2 of the airport.
The Kempegowda International Airport police arrested the accused and took up further investigation. More details regarding the incident are awaited.
The accused, a resident of Kammanahalli, was not authorised to conduct frisking. He has been sent to judicial custody.
Police said the accused approached the woman after she had completed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and immigration checks. Introducing himself as an airport staffer, he started a conversation with her and insisted that a beep sound was coming from her bag. Further investigation is underway.