Mhalo Kikon, an 80-year-old differently-abled Naga woman was allegedly “strip-searched” by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) staff at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Guwahati in Assam on Thursday. The woman and her grandchild were on their way to Delhi. The wheelchair-bound Kikon, who underwent a hip replacement surgery last year, was on her way to Delhi by a GoAir flight. A CISF woman official allegedly made her take
off all her clothes on the pretext of searching her, even after Kikon repeatedly
said that she had had the hip implant. Meanwhile, taking to Twitter Kikon’s daughter
Dolly Kikon, a renowned anthropologist from Nagaland said that her disabled
mother was made to strip by the CISF staff at the airport in Guwahati.”It is
disgusting! My 80-year-old disabled mother was forced to pull down her
undergarment and get naked. Why? Why?” Kikon tweeted. She also alleged that
the CISF security personnel harassed her niece for lodging a complaint with the
authorities against the incident.
In another tweet, Kikon said, “Someone please help! The CISF security personnel team at @GuwahatiAirport are harassing my niece who is taking care of my mother. They have taken away the complaint form she has written. They DID not allow her to take a screenshot saying it’s not “allowed”. My mom is distressed,” she said in another tweet. “Soon after the incident, the Guwahati airport authorities issued an apology to Dolly Kikon. I am used to the machine beeping at the airport since I have a metal plate. When the security person asked me about it, I showed her the stitch marks. However, she
refused to listen to me and insisted that I strip naked. I was made to take off my
undergarments and diaper,” she said.”Can you imagine how embarrassing this is
for someone who is a disabled senior citizen to be treated like this?” she
questioned. Later, Guwahati airport officials responded to Ms. Kikon’s tweet and
apologized for the incident.
