Panaji, Feb 07 (PTI) The Goa State Commission for Persons with Disabilities on Tuesday issued a notice to the director of Dabolim airport after a British national alleged that two airport staffers extorted Rs 4,000 from her to provide wheelchair service to her.

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As per a copy of the notice, the Commission, a quasi-judicial body, has asked the airport director to submit an action taken report by February 13.

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Katherine Frances Wolfe (62), who has mobility issues, had filed a complaint with the airport director, the director-general of Goa police and the Commission, narrating her ordeal on January 29 when she was travelling from the coastal state to Gatwick airport in London.

When she arrived at Dabolim airport, the manager assigned two men to assist her with her wheelchair and baggage, said the complaint filed by one Mikhil Vasant on her behalf.

But the two stopped Wolfe in a random space in the airport and threatened to leave her there if she didn't pay up. She was then made to cough up Rs 4,000 for the wheelchair service, said her complaint.

The commission stated in its notice that the act is clearly in violation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. It said the state should ensure “non-discrimination and decent treatment of people with disabilities and women with disabilities respectively”.

The notice said, “Section 5 of the Act mandates that the government must ensure access to community support services, including personal assistance needed to support living with due regard to age and gender. According to Section 7 of the Act, the state must take measures to protect persons with disabilities from exploitation.”

Citing the Act, the notice also said that the government should recognise and report such events and provide legal remedies available against such incidents.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)