25-Week Pregnant Woman Strip Searched By Lady Staff To Confirm Pregnancy

A 25-week pregnant woman was strip-searched Sunday by lady staff to confirm her pregnancy at an airport in the Indian city of Guwahati. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) said Tuesday the woman sub-inspector who examined the woman was transferred from screening duty to training.

"CISF woman Sub-Inspector has been transferred from screening duty to training. CISF has expressed regret on the behalf of woman Sub-Inspector to the complainant," CISF said in a statement. "CISF has taken cognizance of victim's complaint and the matter was enquired into. A new Sub-Inspector was deployed for conducting the screening duty."

The incident took place when the woman was flying to Delhi by a SpiceJet flight along with her husband after attending the last rites of her father.

She was strip-searched and manually examined by the lady officer by pushing her abdomen rather than conducting a medical examination.

“Dear CISF, please learn how to treat a pregnant woman. Yesterday, in Guwahati airport my wife was harassed by CISF staff named Sujata, she forced my wife to undress to verify pregnancy. Is it a crime being pregnant in this country?” Shivam Sarmah, her husband tweeted to express her anger.

“When we approached the security check, the CISF staff did not hand over the boarding pass and asked my wife to show proof of her pregnancy,” he said, She the People reported. "The lady CISF staff asked my wife to accompany her to a room and forced her to undress. The CISF lady staff also pushed my wife's abdomen to check pregnancy."

“We were carrying the doctor’s prescription slip but left it in check in a bag after airline staff stopped us from carrying too many handbags,” Sarmah said, adding they were quizzed for 20 minutes before they were given their boarding passes, local daily India.com reported.

“I requested Spicejet staff for a wheelchair at Guwahati airport which they provided. However, the airline asked multiple questions on pregnancy for about 20 minutes before providing boarding passes. We were carrying the doctor’s prescription slip but left it in check in a bag after airline staff stopped us from carrying too many hand bags,” he said, Indian daily Asian Age reported.

“My wife has lost her father on June 11 night. We did not face any problem in Delhi. But in Guwahati, the CISF staff insisted about proof of pregnancy,” he added. “I understand security concern. There was no shortfall since my wife has already passed through metal detector and manual detector like any other.”

CISF sources told a local news daily the pregnant passenger did not pass through the metal detector and asked for exemption but the rules did not allow it. She was taken to a separate room and checked as she was pregnant. The sources also said the woman did not have medical certificates.

The CISF also explained she was subjected to proper screening owing to recent incidents of gold smuggling in the region.