Bengaluru: Arsalan Ahmed Qazi, 21 years old and a student of the Jamia Islamia madrasa, Bhatkal, was set to take a 4.30am Air Arabia flight to Sharjah from Bengaluru on Wednesday. But he missed his flight after officers at the Foreigner Regional Registration Office at the Kempegowda International Airport said Qazi was travelling on an ECR (emigration check required) passport, which mandates a check.  He was travelling to Sharjah, UAE, where his parents live.

Qazi claims he was victimized for hailing from Bhatkal, a coastal town that has earned the terror tag following the arrest of the Bhatkal brothers. He told an english daily “I had reached the airport early as it was an international flight. I cleared boarding and security checks and went to the immigration counter. Officials asked for my passport and enquired whether I belonged to Bhatkal. When I replied in the affirmative, the authorities took me aside and instructed me to wait.”

Qazi claims he was further asked if he knew terror accused Yasin Bhatkal, who is currently in police custody. “I said I knew nothing of this man and that there is no relation with him…. I was asked to wait again, and this time someone, I think from the airline, came and asked me to mail my visa details to them. I immediately called my brother in Bhatkal and asked him to do the same. He mailed the details to them in about 10 minutes. Then the person got back and told me there was no problem with my visa,” he said.

However, Qazi was asked to continue waiting, delaying him by two hours and ensuring that he missed his flight. “Well past my flight’s take-off, the authorities returned my passport and said I could leave. I immediately rushed to the airline. But the representatives said I had missed the flight and they could do nothing,” he said.

Qazi said his name doesn’t feature in any of the ‘wanted’ lists and he had to pay the price because he hails from Bhatkal. He had to book a ticket for the next day’s flight leaving at 4.35am by shelling out extra money.