A customs officer named Devendra Kumar Hooda has been “compulsorily retired” for molesting and sexually harassing two Uzbek nationals, said a government notice.
The notice further said, “The officer’s continuance in service would be a menace to public service and injurious to the public interest.”
Hooda was found guilty of taking advantage of two Uzbek women when confined them in a preventive room to check if they were carrying any contraband. The incident took place in May 2019 and it was reported that the preventive room neither had CCTV camera installed nor had any female officer accompanying the Uzbek nationals.
After more than a year of detailed inquiry and investigation, Hooda was reportedly served a notice on December 21 by the International Complaints Committee (ICC). The officials said that two female passengers who arrived from Tashkent on May 2 and May 3 in 2019 were detained in a room where Hooda allegedly sexually harassed them. One of the female passengers testified against Hooda before ICC and accused him “molesting” her and indulging in obscene sexual acts in the room.
In June 2019, the Delhi airport authorities had suspended two senior customs officials after receiving a complaint from the female passenger. At that time, the accused man’s name wasn’t revealed and he was known as a superintendent in his early 50s.
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