Santhosh Narayanan, the fast-growing musician of Tamil films, has slammed Sydney airport authorities for making him go through 'chemical substance test' for the eighth time in a row. He narrated his frustrating ordeal on Twitter claiming that this 'racial profiling' should be stopped.
"I was "randomly" picked up for the 8th time in a row at the Sydney airport for a chemical substance test and a rude officer insulted my intelligence. Racial profiling needs to stop. @SydneyAirport. [sic]" Santhosh Narayanan tweeted.
The airport authorities came out with a clarification in a series of tweets justifying the test.
"Hi Santhosh, thanks for reaching out to us, our aim is to provide all passengers with a positive experience. Screening standards are set by the Government. Screening officers are required to select people on a random and continuous basis for screening with the explosive trace detection (ETD) method," the airport responded.
"This means that as soon as the last person is cleared, the screening officer selects the next person going through security. Under this arrangement, persons passing through the screening point have an equal probability of being selected. We hope this explains the method of screening. Sydney Airport (sic)," it added.
Santhosh Narayanan thanked the Sydney airport for their response, but requested them to ensure that it should not be misused by the officers "based on their personal racial preferences."
The chemical substance test is a procedure to detect chemicals, some of which are often found in explosives and also found in materials that people use on daily basis.
Many high-profile Indians that include former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan have been treated in a similar way at international airports.
