Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was reportedly detained for approximately three hours at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday night and fined Rs 50,000 following a customs inspection of his luggage upon returning from Paris.
Mann, accompanied by his wife Dr Gurpreet Kaur, arrived in Delhi on an Air France flight around 11 p.m. According to reports, the chief minister proceeded through the green channel, designated for passengers with nothing to declare, despite allegedly carrying items that required customs clearance through the red channel.
After arriving, Mann and his wife waited in the VIP lounge for their baggage. Nearly two hours later, airport officials informed them that customs authorities had held their luggage for inspection. The chief minister was subsequently escorted to the customs area, where officials examined the baggage in his presence.
Sources cited by The Indian Express said the luggage contained personal belongings, including shoes, belts, clothing, watches and jewellery, which were described as everyday-use items. Mann reportedly spent another hour undergoing customs procedures before leaving the airport.
Following the inspection, customs authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000. Two senior Punjab government officials, Principal Secretary Ravi Bhagat and Delhi Resident Commissioner S Karuna Raju, arranged the payment. The amount was initially paid through the resident commissioner’s office account before being reimbursed by Mann.
The chief minister had travelled to Paris during the night of October 16–17 to promote Punjab’s agricultural products, particularly kidney beans and chickpeas, at an international food festival.
The incident has triggered a political dispute between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and opposition leaders in Punjab.
AAP general secretary Baltej Pannu accused customs authorities of unnecessarily harassing the chief minister during his return from an official visit. In a video statement, Pannu alleged that officials initially permitted Mann to leave but subsequently returned under unspecified pressure to issue the Rs 50,000 penalty.
Pannu questioned why a sitting chief minister would be made to wait for three hours at an airport over a relatively small customs fine. He also alleged that India’s Consul General in Paris failed to meet Mann despite protocol-related directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia criticized Mann on social media, alleging that the chief minister and his wife were questioned over excess baggage or undeclared money after returning from France.
Majithia further claimed that Mann had travelled to France to celebrate his birthday and suggested that customs authorities eventually allowed him to leave because of his position as chief minister. These allegations have not been independently established.
The controversy comes amid continuing political tensions between Punjab’s AAP government and the BJP-led central government over law and order, drug-related issues and the treatment of the state by federal authorities.
Following his return, Mann also criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the BJP of focusing on Punjab primarily during election periods.
The airport incident has added another point of contention to the ongoing political confrontation, with AAP describing the customs action as harassment while opposition leaders demand greater scrutiny of the chief minister’s overseas visit and baggage.
