NEW DELHI – An Indian pilot of Air India was handcuffed in front ofpassengers and deplaned by US law enforcement authorities on allegationsrelated to accessing and downloading child pornography, officials of thenational carrier said on Sunday.

The incident took place at San Francisco on Monday and the pilot wasdeplaned by the authorities soon after his plane landed from New Delhi,they added, PTI has reported.

“The US authorities seized his passport, cancelled his visa and deportedhim back to India,” the Air India officials said on the condition ofanonymity.

“When the Delhi-San Francisco plane landed in the US on Monday, the pilotwas handcuffed in front of the passengers and deplaned,” they said.

“The pilot was under the scanner of US law enforcement authorities such asthe FBI for accessing and downloading child pornography,” the officialsadded. The spokesperson of Air India did not respond to queries related tothe matter.

In the United States, images of child pornography are not protected underFirst Amendment rights and are illegal contraband under federal law.

Section 2256 of Title 18, United States Code, defines child pornography asany “visual depiction” of sexually explicit conduct involving a “minor”,who is someone under 18 years of age.