This is an archive article published on September 9, 2023
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Alarm as cabbie takes time-out from Biden motorcade duty to drop off customer — at UAE President hotel
Security personnel at the hotel verified the details of the car with their counterparts at ITC Maurya, who confirmed that he was a part of Joe Biden’s advanced carcade.
“The passenger was picked up from Lodhi Estate and he went to drop him where he was stopped by the security personnel after they saw multiple stickers on his car — of ITC Maurya hotel and the Biden carcade," the official said. (Representational/ PTI)
Alarm bells rang in the security establishment early Saturday morning when a private cab designated for use in US President Joe Biden’s motorcade attempted to enter a five-star hotel in which UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is staying. After security personnel stopped the Ertiga car, they found out that the driver, before reporting for duty at ITC Maurya, had decided to drop off one of his regular clients at Taj Mansingh in central Delhi, The Indian Express has learnt.
An official with a security agency said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has hired several private vehicles for the carcade of Biden and the US has bought up 60 vehicles of its own.
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“There is one Haryana-registration bearing car, whose driver is currently running in the advanced carcade of Biden. This car had several stickers indicating its affiliation with Biden’s motorcade and was expected to be at ITC Maurya, where the US President was staying. But on Saturday morning, he received a call at around 8 am from his regular passenger, who is a businessman and asked him to drop him off at the Taj Mansingh hotel. The movement of Biden’s motorcade was scheduled to start around 9-9.30 am, so he decided to drop his regular passenger,” the official said.
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“The passenger was picked up from Lodhi Estate and he went to drop him where he was stopped by the security personnel after they saw multiple stickers on his car — of ITC Maurya hotel and the Biden carcade. A message was flashed on the wireless set by the security personnel and they had to intervene and stop the driver from entering the hotel premises,” the official said.
Security personnel at the hotel verified the details of the car with their counterparts at ITC Maurya, who confirmed that he was a part of Biden’s advanced carcade.
“The driver and businessman were questioned by the official of intelligence agencies and he claimed that he was unaware of the protocol and that it was wrong to go outside during security duty,” the official said.
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A senior security establishment officer said the chief of protocol of the MEA was informed about the incident and consequently, this car was removed from Biden’s motorcade. Security officers have also removed all the stickers from the car. Both the driver and his client were let off after the questioning and no legal action has been taken against them.
“The passenger was picked up from Lodhi Estate and he went to drop him where he was stopped by the security personnel after they saw multiple stickers on his car — of ITC Maurya hotel and the Biden carcade," the official said. (Representational/ PTI) 
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