Para-cyclist asked to remove prosthetics at B’luru airport

Alleging illtreatment by security staff, para-cyclist Aditya Mehta on Thursday said he was forced to remove his prosthetic leg at Bengaluru airport on Tuesday, the second such incident in two months, which left him bleeding, even as the CISF maintained that they followed all rules.

The latest incident happened on October 11 when Mehta reached the Bengaluru international airport to take a flight to Hyderabad.

Taking to Facebook, Mehta, who is a medal winning cyclist, said he was again forced to remove his prosthetic leg at the Kempegowda International Airport after a similar experince at the airport earlier and questioned why the security staff cannot adopt a more “sensitised” procedure.

“..in my earlier posts, I have already mentioned how painful the procedure is to remove prosthetics and wear it back. Worth mentioning is the psychological scar that it can leave on a physically challenged person’s mind,” he said in his post on the same day.

When contacted, a CISF spokesperson said it followed all rules and procedures and that the passenger was cleared by security officials in a “very polite and courteous manner”.

“All force personnel posted for airport security duties are trained and sensitised to help passengers with special requirements,” CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) spokesperson Deputy Commandant Manjit Singh said.

Singh also emphasised that the CISF is mandated to follow rules framed for aviation security by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the same were complied with in this case too.

Officials said the on-duty CISF personnel also called up the airline duty manager to help Mehta in removing and again wearing his prosthetic legs. Earlier also, Mehta had went public about being asked to remove his prosthetics at airports. 

About the Tuesday incident, the para-cyclist said CISF officials “made me undo and redo my prosthesis during the security check. “I have been suffering with an injury since the past 20 days with my stump (operated limb) and the security check officials only had to say ‘It is your problem!’ in this regards.