Brooklyn-based Kashmiri native stopped 21 times by NYPD

New York, Feb.20 (ANI): A Brooklyn-based Kashmiri native was stopped 21 times by personnel of the New York Police Department (NYPD) in what's supposed to be a random bag search.

According to the New York Daily News, he has sued the NYPD, claiming he was targeted because of his race.

In a lawsuit filed in a Brooklyn federal court Thursday, Jangir Sultan said the odds of him being stopped 21 times in a random sample are 165 million to one.

The NYPD began searching bags at subway stations after the bombings in London in July 2005. They're supposed to stop passengers randomly, say every eighth or 10th person.

Sultan, 32, believes there's something more sinister at play.

"The NYPD has deliberately structured the subway bag search program in a way that invites racial profiling," the lawsuit charges.

Sultan, a hospital manager with a clean record, initially didn't object to the searches. Even after the first few times he was stopped and had his bag searched, he assumed everyone was going through the same thing.

But after speaking to friends and colleagues, he learned that many of them had never been stopped.

He finally lost patience after the 13th time, filing complaints with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Sultan's lawsuit demands unspecified damages and oversight of the NYPD subway bag-search program. (ANI)