PTI
 
New York, Dec 7: A civil liberties group has filed a lawsuit against New York Police on behalf of an Indian origin student who was allegedly unlawfully handcuffed and detained in July after he took photographs of a subway station here.

Arun Wiita, 26, was allowed to go after about half an hour and was never charged but the Columbia University student says he felt humiliated.

Claiming that Wiita had been targeted because of the "colour of his skin", the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) says the NYPD has a history of harassing photographers and violating their First Amendment rights, particularly those who fit certain ethnic profiles.

Wiita, who has sought compensatory damages, alleges that he was detained in upper Manhattan shortly after he embarked on a planned 10-day project of photographing all 468 subway stations and their surrounding streetscapes.

Though he explained his project to the officer and showed him his Columbia identification but the officer handcuffed him and made him stand on a busy street corner for a half an hour, it is alleged.

Two plainclothes policemen also arrived on the scene and following a public interrogation, Wiita was released.

"I was surprised and upset that I could be handcuffed on the street for taking a photograph," Wiita said. "What was really disheartening was that I knew this had probably happened before and that it could happen again to anyone."

This is the second such lawsuit the NYCLU has recently filed against the NYPD. Earlier this year, a lawsuit was brought on behalf of award-winning documentary maker Rakesh Sharma, who was detained for filming with a handheld camera on a Manhattan sidewalk.