Shah Rukh Khan detained at Los Angeles airport

Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan was detained briefly at Los Angeles international airport (LAX) on Friday morning. The actor took to Twitter to announce the “inconvenient” turn of events and said that he spent the time playing, Pokemon, the popular mobile app game. “I fully understand & respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every damn time really, really sucks,” Mr. Khan announced on his Twitter handle early on Friday after he was pulled for extra screening by US immigration and customs officials.

The incident drew a swift diplomatic response with US diplomats in charge of South Asia going into damage control mode on Twitter. “Sorry for the hassle at the airport, @iamsrk – even American diplomats get pulled for extra screening”, Nisha Biswal , Assistant Secretary of State in charge of South Asia and Central Asia, said in a Twitter post. ‘

She was followed by US ambassador to India Richard Verma who also took to the social media platform and announced, “Sorry for the trouble at LAX @iamsrk. We are working to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Your work inspires millions, including in the US.” Mr. Khan responded to the ambassador’s remark saying, “No trouble sir, respect the protocol & not expecting to be above it. It’s just a tad inconvenient. Thanks for your concern.”

The days prior to the Independence Day celebrations in New York, usually witnesses a heavy flow of Bollywood celebrities to the US. This year a number of celebrities are travelling in the US especially for the mega event to commemorate the late musician MS Subbulakshmi. On August 15 Oscar winning music director AR Rahman will perform in memory of MS in an event at UN General Assembly which will be attended by the Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar. It is not yet clear if Mr Khan is also expected to be in New York during that occasion.

This is not the first time that Khan has been detained at a US airport. Khan was detained at New York airport for over two hours by immigration officials in 2012. The US customs and border protection authorities had expressed “profound” apologies for the Shah Rukh Khan’s detention then.

In 2009 also, Khan was also detained by US immigration officials at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey because his name came up on a computer alert list.

SOURCE: PTI