U.S. DETAINED INDIAN AVIATION MINISTER AND THEN APOLOGISES

NEW DELHI, India - Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was detained for intensive questioning at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, US, due to a misunderstanding about his name.

The Indian media reported on Wednesday that the minister had been mistaken for a wanted man by the same name when he was escorted to a room by security officers.

• He was travelling from London to Montreal via Chicago for an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conference, but was making a personal visit to see his son while en route.
• Once convinced they had got the wrong Praful Patel, the immigration authorities let him leave the airport and enter the US. The US Secretary of Homeland Security on Tuesday apologised to the minister for the incident, which was further complicated by the fact that the minister was travelling on a civil passport instead of a diplomatic one.
• This is not the first time this has happened. The minister was previously detained in New York airport for the same reason.
• The Ministry of External Affairs usually counters such a situation by informing US counterparts of Patel’s itinerary well in advance; however a sudden change of travel plans for the minister caught the Chicago authorities unaware.

The United States says such an incident won’t happen again and that the necessary amendments will be made to the present immigration law.
Patel later clarified in an SMS that nothing serious had happened.
"I'm in Montreal and nothing serious happened so please don't sensationalise. There is a person with a similar name and date of birth. That's why they just double checked," he wrote.

Source: Gulf News