The Hindu : New Delhi News : Bank staffer held for cheating passenger

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 28, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Bank staffer held for cheating passenger

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 27. The list of those trying to dupe or cheat passengers at Indira Gandhi International Airport here is getting longer. After taxi and trolley touts, loaders and duty-free shop attendants, now an employee of an international bank, American Express, has been charged for paying less than the exchange value to a passenger who wanted to change Indian currency into U.S. dollars.

It all happened around 9-20 p.m. on January 25. The passenger, Karuna Sharma, who was travelling by Thai Airways flight TG 316, reported to the Inspector in charge in the main security hold area of the International Terminal that she had given Rs. 29,500 to the counter attendant of American Express, Ram Bharadwaj, for converting them into U.S. dollars.

Ms Sharma alleged that the counter attendant gave her U.S. currency equivalent to Rs 24,965 only in return. She also informed the CISF that though she had reported the matter to various other agencies at the airport, no action was taken on her complaint.

The CISF took a written complaint from the passenger against the counter attendant of American Express and then forwarded it to the Airports Authority of India and the concerned bank for necessary action.

Meanwhile, in another incident of misconduct by a loader at the airport, an employee of a private agency was caught by Central Industrial Security Force personnel yesterday while he was allegedly tampering with the baggage of a Tajikistan flight passenger in the Arrival area of the International Terminal.

It was around 3 a.m. that Sub-Inspector P.S. Rawat of the Crime and Intelligence Wing of CISF, who was deployed on CCTV surveillance duty, observed on the monitor the accused loader as he was tampering with baggage of passengers of flight TJK 111 at Baggage Conveyor Belt No. 1.

The Sub Inspector immediately informed the CIW staff through a walkie-talkie and subsequently Head Constable Satbir Singh and Constable Dinesh Rai reached the spot and caught the loader -- later identified as Vinod Kumar, a resident of Mahlana in Sonepat district of Haryana and employed with M/s Aroon Enterprises -- as soon as he took out a precious stone-studded necklace from a bag.

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