A US-based Indian couple has raised questions about passport scanning at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after claiming that duty-free staff scanned the passports of their entire family. Pooja Tomarr Sikarwar shared the experience on Instagram after buying a bottle of liquor at Terminal 3.
According to Sikarwar, the staff did not only scan the passport of the person who made the purchase. They also scanned the passports of her nine-month-old baby and toddler. Her husband questioned why the passports of family members who had not bought anything were being scanned.
The couple also wondered whether the practice could be linked to the misuse of passenger details. Delhi airport authorities have since responded to the complaint and asked
Sikarwar to share more information so the matter can be checked.
The Couple Questioned Why Every Passport Was Scanned
“Indira Gandhi Airport, jo Dilli mein hai, IGI jisko kehte hain, uspe saare scams ki limit cross ho gayi hai,” Pooja Tomarr Sikarwar said in her Instagram video. She said the family had arrived in Delhi from the United States and stopped at the first duty-free store after immigration at Terminal 3.
After one family member bought a bottle of liquor, staff reportedly scanned the passports of everyone in the group. When the couple asked why this was being done, staff reportedly said they were checking available “offers”.
“Toh uske baad offer check kiya toh bolte hain ki offer hai, ek chocolate aap loge dusri chocolate pe 10% free mil jayega. Toh yeh kya hai bhai? (After checking the offers, they said – if you buy one chocolate, you will get 10% off on the second chocolate. What is this nonsense?),” her husband said.
Husband Raises Concerns About Passenger Data
The couple said they were also concerned about what could happen to the information collected through passport scans. “Is there some kind of scam going on at IGI where you scan everyone else’s [passports] and smuggle items outside under the names of people who haven’t even bought anything from duty-free?” he asked.
“And this is about that duty-free shop right after you exit immigration at IGI—that very first duty-free shop. “Or is the scam about taking your personal information without your knowledge or consent and creating some kind of database out of it?” he added, saying that this should not have happened at all.
He also said that such an experience could leave a poor impression on visitors to India.
Delhi Airport Asks For More Details
The official Instagram account of Delhi Airport responded to Sikarwar’s post and asked her to provide details about the incident.
“Dear Pooja, We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused. We request you to kindly share more details about your experience, including your contact number and passport details, through our “Contact Us” page: https://bit.ly/ContactDELAirport so that we can investigate the matter and assist you further,” the official handle posted.
Disclaimer: This article is based on user-generated content. The claims made in the original post have not been independently verified by News18.
