Shilpa Shetty harassed, Mumbai Mirror

Harassed!
Shilpa Shetty was detained at the international airport for a gruelling two hours before being allowed to go to UK to attend the IIFA awards

Shilpa Shetty had a harrowing time at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport about 10 days ago, while on her way to the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) function. The emigration authorities refused to let her head for London saying that a `look-out' notice had been issued in her name.A look-out notice is issued in criminal cases and is served at exit points of a country, alerting security agencies to stop the person, in whose name the notice is, from moving out of the country. In Shilpa's case, a court in Rajasthan had issued a look-out notice on the actor in an obscenity case. Shilpa had appeared along with Hollywood actor Richard Gere at a charity function in Delhi some months ago, and TV channels blew it out of proportion when Gere kissed Shetty in a public.

Although the actress moved the Supreme Court and got a relief against the look-out notice, it had obviously not been communicated to the security agencies at the airport.According to sources, when Shilpa reached the CSI airport, she was stopped at the emigration check desk. "We had a look-out notice in Shilpa's name, and there was nothing wrong if the men on duty stopped her," said a senior Mumbai Police official, who did not wish to be named.A desperate Shilpa tried to convince the emigration authorities that the Supreme Court had already granted her relief in the look-out case, but the authorities simply refused to listen to her. They asked her to produce a copy of the SC directive, but Shilpa was not carrying it with her, sources said.The harassment continued for over two hours. It took almost two hours for Shilpa to convince the emigration authorities to let her talk to her father and get a copy of the SC directive. Later, her father reached the CSI airport and furnished a copy of the SC order, following which emigration authorities allowed Shilpa to proceed to UK.Dale Bhagwagar, spokesperson for Shilpa Shetty confirmed the incident. According to him, Shilpa's father, who was also travelling with the actor, was carrying the SC order which he showed to the authorities, after which the actress was allowed to proceed to UK.