The Hindu : New Delhi News : Celluloid drama at airport

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 04, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Celluloid drama at airport

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MARCH 3. The comic-looking situation of exchange of bags at airports often seen on celluloid took an ugly turn at Indira Gandhi International Airport here this morning when a passenger who had flown in from Muscat was detained by Immigration officials as he could not produce his passport which had been carted away by another passenger in his bag. However, timely action by the Central Industrial Security Force saved him further trouble as the other passenger was traced at New Delhi railway station and returned to the airport with the much-needed passport.

It was at around 5 a.m. that Amit Ranjan Roy who had flown to Delhi by Indian Airlines flight IC 886 from Muscat was noticed by the CISF personnel while he was loitering in the Transit Lounge. The personnel questioned Mr Roy and told him that he should ideally have gone to the Arrival Immigration counter as he was to take a further flight to Kolkata.

But then it was revealed that his passport was not with him as the bag in which he had kept it had been mistakenly taken away by another passenger who had left behind his own bag instead. Mr Roy also disclosed that he was sitting on the lower floor for Immigration clearance when he heard an airline staff requesting the transit passenger to move to the transit lounge. In the hurry to do so, Mr Roy took another passenger's bag with him, as it was of an identical make.

The other passenger too did not realise the difference and went away with Mr Roy's bag. However, on reaching the Transit lounge and opening the bag for taking out his passport, Mr Roy was shocked to see that his air-ticket, cash, two Red Label wine bottles and some chocolates were not in it. It was then that he realised that the bags had got exchanged.

The CISF personnel handed over Mr Roy to the Immigration officials. Meanwhile, a search of the bag found in his possession led to the recovery of a bank draft worth Rs 50,000 drawn in favour of Prabhu Lal Malviya and a railway ticket from New Delhi to Ratlam. Taking the clues, the CISF immediately informed the authorities at New Delhi Station and arrangements were made to make announcements over the public address system there about the incident.

Fortunately for Mr Roy, the other passenger, Mr Malviya, who had also come from Muscat by IC 886, heard the announcements and rushed back to the airport. He informed the authorities there about the mix-up of bags as they happened to be of the same colour and size. Thereafter the bags were exchanged by the passengers and Mr Roy was released by the Immigration officials.

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