Who is Mohammed Affann Ahmed? Bengaluru airport staffer arrested for molesting Korean woman

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport has landed in the middle of a disturbing controversy after a South Korean businesswoman accused a ground-handling staff member of harassing her. The case has now turned the spotlight on who the accused is and how he managed to get away with what he allegedly did.

The man in question is Mohammed Affann Ahmed, a 25-year-old from Kammanahali, who was working as ground staff with AISATS, the airport’s handling agency. Here’s the part that raises serious questions: he had no authority to frisk passengers. None at all.

Yet, according to the complaint, Ahmed asked the woman to step aside for what he called “manual frisking” and then touched her inappropriately. The woman later told police that he hugged her and even thanked her after the incident, a detail that has left many stunned.

Police say Ahmed acted completely on his own, without permission from any supervisor. He was arrested soon after the complaint and is now in judicial custody at Parappana Agrahara Central Jail, as reported by the Times of India City.

CCTV footage from the airport has backed up the woman’s version of events. Airport officials confirmed that Ahmed was never authorized to carry out any physical checks. If there was any doubt about a passenger, his job was only to alert immigration or CISF staff, and any frisking should have been done strictly by authorized female personnel.

The woman said the incident happened around 10.45 am, near the men’s washroom, after Ahmed approached her about her checked baggage. What seemed like a routine query quickly turned into something deeply unsettling.

AISATS has since responded strongly. The company said the employee was immediately terminated and handed over to the police. In their statement, they called it an “unpardonable incident” and said they deeply regret the distress caused to the passenger. They also said they are carrying out a detailed internal inquiry and reviewing safety protocols to make sure this never happens again.

For now, the focus remains on how such a breach of trust happened inside one of the country’s busiest airports and what more needs to change to keep passengers safe.