On 20/06/07, Thaths <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I doubt the authenticity of the forwarded email. It has several of the signs of bogus chain emails:1. Emotional and hysterical tone 2. Copious and inappropriate use of punctuation marks such as double quotes 3. Dire consequences for people who don't do as advised ("Keep an eye on that immigration officer, and check your passport") 4.. Names of people to whom bad things have happened (viz. Aramco's Arifuddin)
True. But the specific con described in the email was also reported in some vernacular dailies in Kerala few years ago, so I wouldn't altogether dismiss it. Remember that the three international airports in Kerala cater to a different category of passengers than the others in India. The bulk of the passengers are unskilled and semi-skilled labourers who work in the middle east; even the littlest problem with their passports or visas in their perception could lead to their being unable to go back there, a scary proposition for most of them. In Calicut Airport for example, the general attitude of customs officers is "alla, njangalkkonnumille?" (what is this mister, you don't have anything for us?). The CBI raided the customs officers of Calicut and Cochin airports about a year back and recovered unaccounted wealth worth several crores; cases on that are still pending and the officers are all suspended from service at the moment.
on occasions when I had to undergo extra security screening (tripod in hand baggage looks like a disassembled sten gun, hand-carrying a delicate glass lamp, etc.), the Central Industrial Security Police (IIRC) were much more polite than many of the US rent-a-baggage-screener or Canadian immigration officials.
CISF personnel are indeed, largely nice and polite. But the other types one encounters - customs, immigration etc. are a bunch of crooks among whom honesty and good behaviour are exceptions rather than the norm. Binand
