A "probably drunk" Kuwaiti man and his three female travel companions were deported from India back to Dubai, after refusing to cooperate with normal immigration procedures.
For several hours, the belligerent Kuwaiti man refused to fill out immigration papers, criticized the Indian system and would not allow his female companions to remove their burqas to show their faces to agents, even when female officers were called as an accommodation.
"Female Immigration officers were called but even then he did not cooperate," an airport source told the Hindustan Times.
"The male passenger was probably drunk as initially he even refused to fill the immigration form," the source said.
"He refused to take off the burqa of female passengers accompanying him for face identification," he said, explaining that after several hours of trying to accommodate the travelers and convince them to follow procedures, immigration officials decided to deport them.
Police were also called prior to the deportation, as the man tried to physically damage the immigration counter.
The Kuwaiti also got into a brawl with another traveler.
"Another passenger ... who arrived from Bangkok, tried to pacify him, but in vain. [He] also lost his cool and slapped [the Kuwaiti]," an airport official said, according to The Asian Age.
"We informed the matter to the police who reached the spot. Finally, frustrated with their behavior the immigration officials sent them back to Dubai under escort," he said.
Burqas are common in many parts of India, but women wearing the face veil are expected to reveal their faces to security officers in situations such as going through customs.
Despite attempts to accommodate the women with female security officers, the women refused to comply. The women and the Kuwaiti man were all deported as a result of their noncompliance and abusive behavior.