New York:
Senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, who is accompanying Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for a talk at Harvard University in the US, was detained briefly for questioning at the Boston Logan International Airport on Wednesday.
Mr Khan, who is minister for UP minister in UP and one of the senior-most leaders of the Samajwadi Party, was detained for about 10 minutes for "further questioning" after the UP team landed in a scheduled British Airways flight from India.
The Indian Embassy has raised the issue with the US State Department, embassy spokesman, M Sridharan, told PTI.
Sources told PTI that the UP team was received by Indian embassy officials and were greeted courteously by US Immigration officials who also helped them fill arrival forms. A woman officer then took Mr Khan to an adjacent room "for further questioning." The extended interview lasted for 10 minutes and the minister was cleared.
An upset Mr Khan reportedly raised a din in the immigration area, alleging that he was detained because he was a Muslim and sought an apology from the officer, who reportedly said she was doing her duty.
At one point, the arguments reportedly became loud and the woman officer threatened to file a complaint to restrain the Indian minister from abusing her for discharging her duties as per the manual of the Department of Homeland Security.
She reportedly explained to the minister that additional interviews or questioning should not be construed as an insult or suspicion in view of security threats and guidelines on entry of visitors to the US.
Higher officials intervened and Khan was escorted out of the airport.
The visiting team is due to go to New York on Friday evening after their Boston engagements and is scheduled to leave for India on Saturday on a British Airways flight.