CISF, BASF told to review list of people exempted from frisking at airports

NEW DELHI: In a first step towards pruning the list of people exempted from frisking at Indian airports, the Civil Aviation Ministry has asked the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and Central Industrial Security Force ( CISF) to review the list of people allowed to board flights without being frisked.

The orders for the review of the list were given in a meeting held on Monday to discuss the issue of security at airports. The meeting, which was convened by the civil aviation minister and lasted for two hours, were attended by representatives from the BCAS, CISF and home ministry.

The minister is believed to have told BCAS and others that the list is going too long and needs to be pruned to ensure more people go through security check.

"The minister has asked to remove category or people from the list, who can go through the normal security procedure and does not require this privilege. The new list will be discussed in the next meeting," said a senior ministry official in the know.

There are 31 categories of people and 2 individuals, who are allowed to board the planes without being frisked at airports. The individuals, include The Dalai Lama and Robert Vadra when flying with an SPG protectee.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju had promised a pruned and need-based exempt list on May 30, the day he took over as aviation minister. He had said that security should be meaningful not ornamental by and large, Indians should go through security checks.