Robert Vadra may lose ‘no-frisk’ status at airports

NEW DELHI: Robert Vadra may soon have to stand in queue for security checks at airports, with the home ministry informing the civil aviation ministry that it doesn’t consider the threat perception on him grave enough to warrant his inclusion on the ‘no-frisk’ list.

The son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and the Dalai Lama are the only two individuals among 33 categories of people who are currently exempted from frisking at airports in India. The civil aviation ministry had in October asked the home ministry to do a threat perception check of the categories of people and sought its views on pruning the list.

“We have received the approval from the home ministry for a review of the category of people who are not frisked at airports in the country. The approval came during the second week of June and the review is likely to be started soon,” said a civil aviation ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the civil aviation ministry will begin the review of 33 categories of people. he move to trim the list may affect some foreigners too.”

The current no-frisk list includes the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Union cabinet ministers, opposition leader, Supreme Court judges, high court chief justices, chief ministers and their deputies, governors and ambassadors. Those who are protected by the Special Protection Group, such as Vadra’s wife Priyanka Gandhi and brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi, are also not frisked. Vadra isn’t frisked only when he is with an SPG protectee.