A packet of foodstuff sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi by a friend from Dubai was held up at the Delhi airport for hours by overcautious customs officials.
NEW DELHI: A packet of foodstuff sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi by a friend from Dubai was held up at the Delhi airport for hours by overcautious customs officials.
It eventually needed the intervention of top officials from the customs department and the security establishment and many telephone calls to have the packet delivered to 10 Janpath, her residence, well informed sources told.
The remarkable thing about the episode was that no one from the Gandhi residence was in any hurry to get hold of the packet marked "raw food".
"Go by the rules, please!" was the terse response of her office staff when the customs got in touch with them.
The packet arrived Thursday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by Indian airline (IC 898) flight from Dubai at 5 p.m. and was marked for clearing for 9 p.m. of the same evening.
But customs officials who read the address -- "Mr. Madhavan, Additional Private Secretary, 10 Janpath (with his mobile number) - suddenly turned extra cautious.
It was promptly screened and indeed found to contain "raw food material". But a senior customs officer refused clearance for the packet.
Even as the customs commissioner was alerted, one of the officials wanted to know how the packet came on the flight without being accompanied by a passenger.
As the packet became the centre of all attention, several officials got into the act.
Eventually, after several hours of delay and confusion, the packet reached 10 Janpath early Friday.
Wondered one official' "If this is the hullabaloo about a packet meant for the world's sixth most powerful woman, one can imagine how the customs treat ordinary people. This is despite the fact that there was nothing unlawful about the packet."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}