World
India
Indian entrepreneur Shruti Chaturvedi has alleged that she was detained for eight hours by the US police and the FBI at Alaska’s Anchorage airport after a powerbank in her handbag was deemed “suspicious” by airport security.
Sharing her ordeal on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Chaturvedi described the experience as distressing and humiliating. She claimed she was physically checked by a male officer on camera, forced to remove her warm clothes, kept in a cold room, and not permitted to use the restroom or make a phone call during the entire period of detention.
In her post, she tagged External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Ministry of External Affairs, urging them to take note of the incident. “I don’t have to imagine, already past the worst 7 hours,” she wrote, expressing deep anguish over the treatment meted out to her.
According to Chaturvedi, airport officials confiscated her mobile phone and wallet, and she was not allowed to contact anyone—leading her to miss her flight. The only reason cited for this extensive detention, she said, was the powerbank, which the airport authorities reportedly found suspicious.
The incident took place at the Anchorage airport in Alaska, where Chaturvedi had been vacationing. Prior to this, she had posted several updates from her trip, including photos of the northern lights and a hike to a snow waterfall. Her travel experience, however, took a dramatic turn following this airport incident.
“Imagine being detained for 8 hours and asked the most ridiculous things,” she wrote, emphasizing the trauma she endured in a foreign country.
No official statement has yet been released by the US authorities regarding the incident.
This incident has sparked outrage on social media, with users questioning the treatment of Indian citizens abroad and demanding an official response from the Indian government.
ALSO READ: Crown Prince of Dubai Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Begins First Official Visit to India
