Indian Paralympian Aditya Mehta was humiliated by the airport security personnel at the Bengaluru airport on Tuesday. The para-athlete was forced to remove his prosthetic legs so that a complete security check was possible.
The Hyderabad-based para-cyclist lost his right leg in a devastating accident in 2005, an incident which changed his life. For many years after the unfortunate accident, he could not move out of his bed. In 2011, he took up cycling as a leisurely activity. However, within a span of five years, he escalated to greater heights.
Also read: How Aditya Mehta pedaled his way to Asian Championship success with just one leg
The 29-year-old has completed the London-Paris connect (5,300 km, 9,000 feet climb) and the Manali to the highest motorable road (18380 feet) in the world, Khadung La Pass. He became the only amputee cyclist to cover the Kashmir-Kanyakumari route.
On Tuesday, Mehta was asked by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to remove his prosthesis. In spite of his requests, he was made to go through the harassment. He had to remove his prosthetic leg, undergo the security check and then wear them again.
This is not the first time that Mehta had to face such harassment. A similar incident took place at the same place only a couple of months back.
Aditya took to Facebook to vent his ire and had a go at the CISF team at the airport. Mehta also stated that he had faced such issues in the past and the procedure of removing the prosthetics takes time.
Also read: Cycling from Delhi to Mumbai with one leg: Interview with para-cyclist Aditya Mehta
The Asian Para-Cycling Championship 2013 silver-medallist set up the Aditya Mehta Foundation for funding young talented para-athletes.
As reported by NewsX, Aditya was distraught about the incident and later said, “They were familiar with my condition but still they did not listen to me. They mocked at me with a look of self-satisfaction. I bled because of the process and I am filing a complaint against the authorities because I can’t wear my prosthetic legs for the next four-five days. My injury is aggravated.”
The cyclist although has goals to feature in triathlons in the future and had already started training for the transition from last year.
