Hours after Indian businesswoman Shruti Chaturvedi posted on social media that she was detained at an airport in the US for eight hours, physically searched by a male officer on record, and made to take off her warm clothing, her case went viral as an exaggerated report that she had been strip-searched by a male officer.
The allegation is incorrect. Chaturvedi was not strip-searched even though she was physically searched by a male policeman. She was instructed to remove her warm garments and was kept in a frigid room while she was being detained.
The misquote was the result of some news articles published by media organizations with sensational captions like "checked by male officer, stripped," "stripped, checked by male officer," and "stripped, no restroom break," and that she filed an appeal with "MEA after getting stripped by a male officer."
Shruti Chaturvedi was arrested at a US airport
Shruti Chaturvedi was on the way back home after a trip to Alaska with her friend when she was arrested at the airport. Airport personnel and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officers arrested her when they noticed a power bank in her purse, which they found "suspicious."
Then, she was kept in detention for eight hours, where she underwent what she described as "ridiculous" questioning. She explained that she was "physically searched by a male officer on camera, undressed of warm clothing while being detained in a cold room."
Chaturvedi added that she was not permitted to take a restroom break or make a phone call while she was being detained. She also missed her flight, as the questioning had been going on for many hours. The incident took place at Anchorage Airport, Alaska, USA.
Imagine being held by police and the FBI for 8 hours, interrogated for the most absurd things, physically searched by a male officer on camera, stripped of warm clothing, a mobile phone, and a wallet, left in a cold room, not permitted to use a toilet or even make one phone call, and made to miss a flight—all due to airport security deeming your power bank in your handbag 'suspicious.'" Chaturvedi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
She wrote, "I don't have to imagine; I'm already beyond the worst 7 hours. And we all know why," and hashtagged External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and the official spokesperson of the ministry, Randhir Jaiswal.
The 31-year-old explained that after hours of interrogation and searches, she and her friend were finally released when officials could not find any reason to detain them further. She, however, pointed out that her initial suitcase was taken away, and she was provided with a poor-quality duffle bag to transport her items.
“They let my friend and me go after 8 hours of nonsense and not finding anything. They still kept the whole luggage bag and gave a frivolous duffle to keep luggage,” adding that she is “alright” and shared her ordeal online only after leaving US territory.
Who is Shruti Chaturvedi?
Shruti Chaturvedi, who has stated that "Indians are powerless outside the country," is an Ahmedabad-based entrepreneur from Gujarat. She is creating two startups: India Action Project and Chaaipani.
While The India Action Project is "bridging the gap between Bharat's communities and mainstream businesses to enable and enhance rural trade," Chaaipani, her first venture, is a "place to find, share, and act upon inspiring stories of individuals" and has an action-oriented community of more than 150,000 individuals.
Chaturvedi is an engineering dropout with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a diploma in journalism & mass communication from St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad. She started her career in 2012 as an intern at The Times of India. She was then a TV reporter for Sandesh and a human resources coordinator for AIESEC.
She has also interned at The Coca-Cola Company and Dexter Consultancy before founding her company. She has received several awards, including the Karamveer Global Fellowship and the Build India Award.