Washington DC:
A day after India slammed the frisking of its envoy to the US, Meera Shankar, the Obama Administration has gone into major damage control.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the government will review its policies and will respond to Foreign Minister SM Krishna.
"We will be looking into it and not only responding to the Indian Foreign Minister but also reviewing the policies," said Clinton.
Krishna said the pat down of the envoy was unacceptable. (
Read: It is unacceptable, says Krishna on Meera Shankar being patted down)
On December 4, Meera Shankar, who was travelling from the American state of Mississippi to Baltimore in Maryland was pulled out of an airport security line and patted down by an American security official. That despite letting them know her diplomatic status.
Amid the uproar, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) asserted that diplomats are not exempt from the searches. Shankar "was screened in accordance with TSA's security policies and procedures", spokesman Nicholas Kimball said in Washington. A number of factors could prompt a pat-down search, including bulky clothing, but he said the agency did not generally discuss specific cases. (
Read: US says diplomats not exempt from search)
This isn't the first time this has happened to an Indian dignitary. Just a couple of months ago, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was detained and questioned at Chicago airport because his name was similar to someone on a no-fly list.