Scam at Delhi airport? Couple alleges passports scanned at duty-free, airport responds

An Indian couple based in the United States has alleged that staff at a duty-free shop at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport scanned the passports of their entire family even though only one member had made a purchase. The couple questioned why the passports of family members who had not bought anything were scanned and raised concerns about possible misuse of their personal information.

Pooja Tomarr Sikarwar shared an Instagram video yesterday in which she described her experience at Terminal 3. She said one member of the family purchased a bottle of liquor from a duty-free outlet, after which staff proceeded to scan the passports of other family members as well.

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What the couple said happened at IGI Airport

Sikarwar said the family had arrived in Delhi from the United States and that she purchased a bottle of liquor from the first duty-free shop at Terminal 3 after clearing immigration.

According to her, the passport of the person making the purchase would ordinarily be the one required for the transaction. However, she claimed that staff also scanned the passports of her nine-month-old baby and her toddler.

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A post shared by Pooja Tomarr Sikarwar (@pooja_umreeka)

When her husband questioned the staff about why the additional passports were being scanned, employees allegedly told them that the process was being carried out to check for “offers”.

Her husband questioned the explanation, referring to an offer involving chocolates.

“Toh uske baad offer check kiya toh bolte hain ki offer hai, ek chocolate aap loge dusri chocolate pe 10% free mil jayega. Toh yeh kya hai bhai? (After checking the offers, they said – if you buy one chocolate, you will get 10% off on the second chocolate. What is this nonsense?),” he said in the video.

Couple raises concerns over passport data

The incident led Sikarwar’s husband to question whether scanning the passports of people who had not made purchases could have other implications.

“Is there some kind of scam going on at IGI where you scan everyone else's [passports] and smuggle items outside under the names of people who haven't even bought anything from duty-free?” he asked.

He specifically referred to the duty-free outlet located immediately after passengers exit immigration at IGI Airport, describing it as the first such shop passengers encounter.

He also questioned whether the scanning could involve collecting passengers’ personal information without their knowledge or consent and creating a database from the data.

“Or is the scam about taking your personal information without your knowledge or consent and creating some kind of database out of it?” he said, adding that the practice should not have occurred.

The husband further said that such an experience could leave a negative impression on visitors from abroad and affect the country's reputation.

Delhi airport asks couple to share details

Delhi airport's official Instagram account responded to Sikarwar's video and asked her to provide additional information so that the matter could be investigated.

“Dear Pooja, We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused. We request you to kindly share more details about your experience, including your contact number and passport details, through our ‘Contact Us’ page so that we can investigate the matter and assist you further,” the official handle said.