National

‘Three Indian musicians asked to exit plane’

NEW DELHI: A non-governmental organisation (NGO) has claimed that three classical religious musicians of Indian origin were offloaded from a plane in California on November 15.

The United Sikhs has written to the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Airways warning of legal recourse unless prompt action is taken to redress the grievance.

The incident occurred after the three musicians — Gulbag, Davinder, and Iqbal Singh — were cleared by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and they had boarded a U.S. Airways flight to Salt Lake City, Utah. Sitting together in their assigned seats, they were approached by ticket-reception desk workers and asked to exit the plane. The group complied with the request.

A Punjabi interpreter informed Mr. Iqbal Singh, on behalf of the U.S. Airways representatives, that the pilot was refusing to fly if they were onboard. The three took the only option they were given, which was to stay at a hotel and depart on a Delta Airlines flight the following morning to Salt Lake City.

In another incident on November 17 at Boston, one Jaspal Singh was sent to secondary screening, where he was subjected to “humiliating treatment” when a Transportation Security Officer roughly searched his turban, almost untying it, after threatening him with arrest.

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