Manu Bhaker alleges harsh treatment by authorities at IGI airport

The shooter is demanding action against two Air India employees following a recent incident.

Manu Bhaker, the Arjuna awardee, has raised a lot of eyebrows after she reported being treated like a “criminal” by an Air India staff member at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The ace shooter alleged that a staff member prevented her from boarding a flight from Delhi on Friday and demanded a bribe.

The issue was regarding her shooting equipment and ammunition gear. An alleged amount of  ₹10,200 was sought as a bribe from Bhaker to be allowed to take the gear along. The 19-year-old took to Twitter and shared her ordeal.

 Through her tweet, she quoted, “Not allowing me to board flight AI 437 at IGI Delhi and asking now ₹10200 despite all valid documentation and DGCA permit. Top of that Manoj Gupta Air India in-charge doesn't recognize DGCA @HardeepSPuri shall I pay this bribe or!!!!," 

Manoj Gupta, the person in question has been accused by Bhaker of not being familiar with the rules, as the newly installed electronic systems did not require a stamp and a signature on the DGCA permission letter she was carrying for her sporting equipment.

In response, Air India also took to Twitter and presented their own narration of the incident, citing their representatives were simply doing their jobs. 

Manu Bhaker has received messages of support from many sportspersons of the country includingIndian Women's cricket legend Jhulan Goswami.

The cricketer has shown solidarity with the ace shooter but she also upheld the values of Air India and their top notch treatment of the sportspersons.

Manu Bhaker is one of the medal hopefuls for Indian in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. She rose to the scene in 2018 when she won the ISSF World Cup in Mexico and not looked back since. She is also nominated for the BBC ‘Indian Sportswoman of the Year’ award where she will be competing with Chess Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and Indian Women's Hockey team captain Rani Rampal.

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