Stowaway Habib is finally free

Jaipur: Stowaway Habib Hussain is finally a free man. Barely two weeks after hiding in the toilet of a special Air India Haj flight from Medina to Jaipur to escape from Saudi Arabia, a district court here granted him bail on Thursday. But it will still be another day before he can get back to his two children and pregnant wife.
While Habib's act exposed serious security lapses on the part of Air India and could have been potentially disastrous for the 273 passengers on board, the court granted him bail after it was proved that the 26-year-old is indeed an Indian national. Habib's passport was confiscated by his Saudi employer and he travelled with only some currency and an I-card which said he worked as a loader at Medina airport.
The court, however, did not comment on whether Habib's motive behind hiding in the plane's toilet and travelling to India was a threat to "national security". "He was released on a bail of Rs 10,000 and another Rs 10,000 as bond security," said Ashwani Mishra, Habib's lawyer.
However, as the bail documents did not reach Jaipur Central Jail by late Thursday evening, Habib will have to spend one more night behind bars and will only be released on Friday.
The order brought a big smile on his brother Jalauddin's face. He, along with Habib's two brothers-in-law, has been camping in the Pink City after his arrest.
08/01/10 Times of India

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Categories: Air India - International Jan 2010, Foreign Jan 2010, NACIL Jan 2010