09 December,2010 12:37 PM IST | | Agencies
Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar was recently patted down by an American security agent at the Jackson - Evers International Airport in Mississippi.
The incident took place on December 4 where Shankar was about to board a flight to Baltimore after attending the Mississippi State University's programme.
Those who witnessed the ambassador's screening said officers told her that she was singled out because of the way she was dressed. Shankar was wearing a sari.
She was taken to a VIP waiting room despite being told she was an ambassador. She was later pulled from a security line and patted down by a female Transportation Security Administration agent.
Shankar presented her diplomatic papers to officers and was escorted by a Mississippi Development Authority representative.
However, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman said diplomats are not exempt from the searches and that Shankar "was screened in accordance with TSA's security policies and procedures."
Officials at the Indian embassy in Washington declined to discuss what happened.
