A differently-abled woman Virali Modi claimed that she was forcefully lifted from her wheelchair by CISF personnel for security checks at the Mumbai Airport on Monday, following which she suffered major cramps.
Taking to her Twitter account, 27-year-old Virali iterated her ordeal and protested against the alleged treatment meted out to her by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at the Mumbai airport.
Modi, in a series of tweets, described her agony, saying “After scanning my wheelchair, this insensitive woman was forcing me to stand up, even when I told her repeatedly that I couldn’t.”
I’m traveling to London from Mumbai via @jetairways and I had the most horrible experience with the CISF staff. After scanning my wheelchair, this insensitive woman was forcing me to stand up, even when I told her repeatedly that I couldn’t. Pt. 1
— Virali Modi (@Virali01) November 26, 2018
She kept forcing me to stand up and then she went on to say that she’d lift me up and get someone else to pat my backside. After many denied requests, she lifted my leg up forcefully, causing a major cramp. Pt. 2
— Virali Modi (@Virali01) November 26, 2018
The cramp was so painful, that my leg went into a spasm which made it cramp even more. I wanted to file a complaint about the way she treated me, but her senior was nowhere in sight. Is this how the CISF are trained? Pt. 3
— Virali Modi (@Virali01) November 26, 2018
She was incredible insensitive, and this is NOT how you treat a disabled passenger! Every other international airport has chemical strips to check the wheelchair and shoes, a disabled passenger doesn’t need to get out of their wheelchair. So why in Mumbai’s International Airport?
— Virali Modi (@Virali01) November 26, 2018
Reacting to the incident, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha apologised to Virali. He tweeted: “Really sorry for the suffering that you went through @CISFHQrs @CSIAMumbai please follow up.”
Really sorry for the suffering that you went through @CISFHQrs @CSIAMumbai please follow up #AirSewa https://t.co/34aVKFf3Ni
— Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) November 27, 2018
On the other hand, CISF denied the allegations, saying the checks were carried out on her in accordance with the procedure. CISF officials also added that she was asked to move to a nearby frisking area at the airport as her wheelchair was large and could not be scanned in the x-ray machine, while denying any forceful or rude conduct by the security personnel who cleared the passenger to board the flight.
CISF women staff was carrying out mandatory pre-embarkation security check and she was polite too during interaction. On seeing the lady concerned, CISF officers arrived at the spot, pacified her and explained the situation. ½
— CISF@India (@CISFHQrs) November 27, 2018
The check was carried out as per procedure and any inconvenience meted out was unintentional. Security is of prime importance, at the same time CISF takes care of specially abled / needy passengers in a dignified manner. 2/2
— CISF@India (@CISFHQrs) November 27, 2018
