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Customs officials asked to go on compulsory leave

Special Correspondent

Alleged harassment of IIM professor at Calicut airport

KOZHIKODE: Disciplinary action has been initiated against Customs officials at the Calicut airport who have been accused of harassing a Professor of Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K) who had reached the airport from London.

The action, ordered by B. Syed Mohammed, Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise, Kozhikode, was in response to the complaint made by Pulapre Balakrishnan, Professor of Economics at IIM-K.

The Customs officials who are suspected to be involved in the incident have been asked to go on compulsory leave.

The IIM-K professor had complained of rude behaviour by the Customs officials. It was also alleged that the officials demanded Euros (European currency) from him. He had arrived at the Calicut airport from London by a Sri Lankan flight coming from Colombo on June 26 when the incident occurred. Giving details of the action taken on the complaint, the Commissioner said in a statement on Thursday that the officers suspected to be involved in the incident had already been asked to go on compulsory leave till an inquiry was completed.

The inquiry was initiated as soon as the complaint was received from Professor Balakrishnan.

Action had also been initiated to suspend the Air Customs Officer from Air Customs duty with immediate effect, the Commissioner said.

In his complaint which was also sent to Parthasarathy Shome, adviser to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Prof. Balakrishnan had narrated how he was prevented from walking through the green channel even though he had told the Customs officials that he had nothing to declare.

The Customs officials were also alleged to have asked him for a portion of the spirits that he had brought with him though it was well within permissible limits. When he had refused, they had also allegedly asked him, "in an aggressive way,'' if he would give them Euros, if he had any with him.

Finally the Customs official had let him leave the airport with the comment that "this time I am letting you go."

Prof. Balakrishnan, in his complaint, said that "all this happened even after I had told them I work for a public institution and so was not expected to make any such payments.''

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