New Delhi:
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has this morning requested the release of a man who was arrested in Chennai for taking photos of him.
Ameer Tawah, a 34-year-old from Kerala, was arrested late on Wednesday night after hours of being interrogated.
On Tuesday, he took pictures of Mr Chidambaram as the minister arrived at the airport to catch a flight to Delhi.
In a statement today, Mr Chidambaram clarified, "I was surprised and disappointed to learn that a person who reportedly attempted to take some pictures of me was detained by the police at Chennai airport on 13.11.2012. I did not know about the incident until the media reported it yesterday (14.11.2012) evening. I have asked my office to get in touch with the Tamil Nadu Police and request them to release the person immediately."
(Read full statement)The police claims that while he was photographing the finance minister, Mr Tawah prevented a public servant from discharging his duty, and have charged him with wrongful restraint. However, they failed to provide details of what Mr Tawah had done to merit those charges.
Police sources also said on Tuesday, Mr Tawah had a first-class ticket to fly from Chennai to Dubai via Delhi. That circuitous route - instead of a direct flight to Dubai - was among the explanations he was asked to furnish.
Last month, Mr Tawah and another passenger who boarded an Air India Dreamliner flight to Delhi were interrogated after they took photos of the plane before insisting that they be allowed to leave the aircraft because they were unwell.
They reportedly provided contradictory information to the security officials who had questioned them at the time.
Recently, the arrest of a man in Tamil Nadu who posted tweets against Mr Chidambaram's son, Karti, was criticised as an over-reaction in a fierce debate online.