Customs Officer - ruthless tyrant?
MUSIC Director Jayachandran posted on his facebook page,
“O My God!!!I had a nightmarish experience at Karipur Airport, Calicut, where some of the customs officials behaved like ruthless tyrants from the dark ages...Like real slave drivers...horrible .. the way our own brothers and sisters were being treated by these self proclaimed ignorant despots....Even I couldn't escape the wrath of tyranny from one of the senior customs officials whose name I don't want to disclose at this point of time.. I landed at Karipur airport in an Air India express flight from Kochi which was heading for Bahrain....Even though I was a domestic passenger, it is mandatory to stand in the queue where customs officials scan the hand bags of international passengers along with ours. It was a pretty long queue and I was waiting & waiting...I saw some of the passengers from the back breaking the queue with the help of a particular customs officer... I had to express displeasure at this show of favouritism....Then the man arrived...A senior customs officer...He said this is his place, his world, where everything happens to the set of rules he sets and that nobody dare raise voice against his oppressive ways...and...began shouting at me.. Then he began abusing- "If you think you are a big musician and celebrity, keep it to yourself...Here you have absolutely no voice.. if you raise your voice, I will take action against you"..I plainly told him in the same timbre of voice that I cannot be intimidated and that his ignorance and arrogance will not work at a people's airport and as an Indian citizen I had all the right to point out the flaw. Then he called me "YOU USELESS"...sweet words coming from a central government servant!!! I was taken aback and shocked.. Then it was verbal diarrhoea coming out from his mouth....words were lashed at me in disdain...But I sticked to my stand, which made him unleash more of his evil face of arrogance....I was insulted and abused in front of all the passengers and airport workers. I had no other way but to go straight to the airport manager and complain....As if like the other side of the coin, the airport manager Mrs Binulakshmi was so courteous and respectful...She took me to the Airport director who took time out from his meeting to patiently hear me.....Such a nice person he was...I lodged a complaint with him..
I have travelled through out the world and never have I come across such a terrible & humbling experience.....that too in our own soil....I feel sorry for my brothers and sisters who toil hard day and night in the gulf and land with their dreams at Karipur Airport...It is nothing less than brutal slavery...How long can we keep our mouths shut?? In a democratic country like ours how can we allow such officers to rule the roost?? I don't want anybody else to go through the torture that I underwent.. Let us get together and fight it out till it is a new morning at Karipur Airport, with the tyrant shown his way out.....”
It is reported that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has ordered a probe.