From last four days, Mohammad Lateef Banday along with his family is stranded in Jammu due to the highway closure. He would’ve been home by now, he said, had he, along with his family not de-boarded by Indigo Airlines.
The incident involving the Pulwama family surfaced when many Kashmiris—studying and working in different parts of India—became soft-targets after the highway car bombing that left 49 CRPF men dead on February 14.
“Citing mismatch details on our Aadhaar cards and tickets, we were deboarded from Delhi-Srinagar Indigo Airlines flight no. 6E 2136 (T2) and detained for two hours,” Lateef alleged.
Even as the airport security cross-checked their identity cards and cleared them for travel, Lateef said, “the Indigo authorities were adamant. I feel that as soon as they saw Pulwama written on our cards, their expressions changed.”
Repeated calls to Indigo Airlines for their comment on the incident went unanswered. This reporter sent a query to the official email ID of the airlines.
Meanwhile, after detention, Lateef said, he was then asked to board the next flight for Rs 27,000/ticket—which he refused in protest.
“I repeatedly requested and begged the airline authority, but they didn’t listen to us,” said Shahzada, Lateef’s wife, who’s a hypertension patient. “This incident made me realise how Kashmiris are humiliated outside the valley.”
After a long explanation and a tweet from a Kashmiri activist Shehla Rashid, Indigo finally refunded their tickets.
Post the airport incident, the couple along with their agonised daughter took a non-AC train to Jammu, where they’re currently staying with their relative, Yawar Banday.
26/02/19 Afshan Rashid/Freepress Kashmir
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The incident involving the Pulwama family surfaced when many Kashmiris—studying and working in different parts of India—became soft-targets after the highway car bombing that left 49 CRPF men dead on February 14.
“Citing mismatch details on our Aadhaar cards and tickets, we were deboarded from Delhi-Srinagar Indigo Airlines flight no. 6E 2136 (T2) and detained for two hours,” Lateef alleged.
Even as the airport security cross-checked their identity cards and cleared them for travel, Lateef said, “the Indigo authorities were adamant. I feel that as soon as they saw Pulwama written on our cards, their expressions changed.”
Repeated calls to Indigo Airlines for their comment on the incident went unanswered. This reporter sent a query to the official email ID of the airlines.
Meanwhile, after detention, Lateef said, he was then asked to board the next flight for Rs 27,000/ticket—which he refused in protest.
“I repeatedly requested and begged the airline authority, but they didn’t listen to us,” said Shahzada, Lateef’s wife, who’s a hypertension patient. “This incident made me realise how Kashmiris are humiliated outside the valley.”
After a long explanation and a tweet from a Kashmiri activist Shehla Rashid, Indigo finally refunded their tickets.
Post the airport incident, the couple along with their agonised daughter took a non-AC train to Jammu, where they’re currently staying with their relative, Yawar Banday.
26/02/19 Afshan Rashid/Freepress Kashmir
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