Immigration’s ‘human error’ lets Haywood slip out

New Delhi: A slip-up by a Bureau of Immigration official at the Delhi airport allowed Kenneth Haywood to fly out of the country, despite a Look Out notice.
“It was a human error… Action has been taken against the official concerned,” a Bureau source said.
This is the second time in less than three months that the Bureau has tripped, forcing red-faced officials at the Home Ministry to run for cover.
In May, an overzealous immigration officer at Delhi airport had dug out an old Look Out circular to deny entry into India to human rights campaigner and former Pakistani minister Ansar Burney.
In Kenneth’s case, the ministry still seemed to be looking for answers.
Sources, however, suggested an error by the immigration officer in feeding Haywood’s details into the computer could have been responsible for the goof-up.
It is possible that due to the typographical error, the computer linked to a database of people who should not be allowed to leave the country, did not link Haywood to the lookout circular issued by the Anti-Terror Squad of Mumbai Police.
An official said the immigration officer concerned had been suspended; there was, however, no confirmation on this count.
20/08/08 Aloke Tikku/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Airports Aug 2008, Safety Aug 2008