Mistaken identity? US apologizes to Praful

New Delhi: The United States has apologized to aviation minister Praful Patel for being questioned at Chicago's O'Hare airport on Monday when he flew in there from London due to a case of mistaken identity.
American secretary of homeland security Janet Napolitano expressed regret on meeting Patel and senior aviation ministry officials in Montreal for a bilateral do on sidelines of an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) meet there.
According to the ministry the issue was raised by Patel's aides, following which Napolitano apologized to Patel. "The secretary has assured US will make necessary amends to prevent any such incident in the future," a ministry statement said. The problem arose as there's a Praful Patel on US watch list who, apart from just the name, also shares his birthday with the aviation minister. As a result, he was taken aside for questionning which lasted a little longer as NCP leader was travelling on personal passport and not diplomatic ones that ministers use.
30/09/10 Times of India

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Categories: airports Sep 2010, Foreign Sep 2010