US doctor detained at Puducherry airport for carrying satellite phone

PUDUCHERRY: A 33-year-old US-based ophthalmologist, Dr Rachel Anne Scott from Missouri, was detained at Puducherry Airport on Sunday after security officials discovered a satellite phone in her check-in baggage. Carrying satellite phones is prohibited under Indian telecommunications regulations unless authorised.

Dr Scott, who was reportedly in Puducherry to meet doctors at Aravind Eye Hospital, was scheduled to board an IndiGo flight to Hyderabad when an Iridium satellite phone was detected during a security check. Airline authorities immediately alerted airport officials, who in turn informed the police. She was subsequently detained.