Bengaluru airport horror: Staff gropes South Korean woman in men’s toilet, says ‘thankyou’; arrested

Bengaluru: A 32-year-old businesswoman from South Korea has accused a ground-handling staff member of sexually harassing her at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru, after he allegedly misused the pretext of a “manual frisking” to touch her inappropriately. The incident occurred on Monday morning in Terminal 2’s international departure area while the woman was returning to South Korea.

According to the complaint, the woman had already cleared security checks conducted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and immigration when a man approached her around 10.45 am. He allegedly introduced himself as airport staff, checked her boarding pass and claimed there was an issue with her checked-in baggage.

Police said the man told her that baggage rechecking would take time and instead suggested a “manual frisking.” Trusting him, the woman followed him, but he allegedly took her near the men’s washroom, where he touched her chest and private parts under the guise of inspection. When she protested, he reportedly hugged her, thanked her and asked her to leave.

The accused has been identified as Mohammed Affann Ahmed (25), a resident of Kammanahalli, who works as ground staff with Air India SATS, police said.

After the woman raised an alarm and filed a complaint, airport authorities detained Ahmed and alerted the Kempegowda Airport police. CCTV footage from the terminal later corroborated her account.

Confirming the incident, airport police said, “During the ticket inspection, Affaann Ahmed said that a beeping sound was coming from the woman’s bag and asked her to be checked separately. He took the woman to the men’s toilet. There, he touched her inappropriately under the pretext of inspection... The woman complained to the airport security staff, who immediately detained the accused and handed him over to the airport police. The CCTV footage confirmed the same… A case has been registered against the accused under Section 75 of the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita).”

Airport authorities clarified that the accused was not authorised to frisk passengers and should have alerted CISF or immigration officials if he suspected any issue, particularly in the case of female travellers, where checks must be conducted by authorised women staff.