TSA Under Fire for 'Humiliating' Pat-Down of Ambassador

Indian officials are lodging a complaint following an "unacceptable" TSA public pat-down of India's sari-clad ambassador—despite the fact that she presented diplomatic papers and was escorted to the airport by police. Witnesses say Meera Shankar was told she was picked out of a group of passengers in a security line at Mississippi's Jackson-Evers International Airport because of the way she was dressed. The ambassador, who had been visiting Mississippi State University, was then thoroughly searched in clear view of everyone, even though she asked for a private check.

She has vowed never to return to the state because of her treatment. "She is a very strong woman, but you could see in her face that she was humiliated," an MSU professor who witnessed the search tells the Clarion-Ledger. "The Indian culture is very modest." Mississippi's lieutenant-governor, who met with Shankar during her visit to the state, says he regrets the "outrageous way" she was treated by federal employees.
(More Mississippi stories.)