Bengali actor ‘harassed’ at Canada airport

Jul 07, 2013 - Tanya Bagchi |

Age Correspondent

Tollywood actress Rituparna Sengupta was allegedly harassed for hours at the Toronto Pearson International Airport despite having a valid visa and other travel documents. This is not the first time such a incident happened with an Indian actor or other personalities. Earlier, Kamal Hasaan, Shah Rukh Khan and even former President of India Abul Kalam faced such harassment at the US airport.

The actress was interrogated for nearly five-and-a-half hours on Thursday. Ms Sengupta, who is in Toronto to showcase her film Mukti, said that after reaching Toronto around noon, she was told that her visa had expired even though it is valid till 2015, while her personal belongings were searched. Her mobile was also taken away when she made an attempt to call her husband. The actress’s plight did not end there. When she broke down after feeling humiliated, she was labelled a mental patient with threats that she would be sent to the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Indian foreign affairs ministry has reportedly lodged a diplomatic protest with Canada government.

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