Lighter in bag flares up CISF, Air India officer tiff

Mumbai: Ajay Kadam (name changed) , a security officer with national carrier Air India (AI) checked in to board his Mumbai-Newark flight (AI 191) on December 7 After his handbag was screened , a CISF official asked him to open his bag again. “He said the X-ray machine showed images of something black and white,” a source from AI told DNA.
Kadam knew that the black thing were coins kept in a pouch and opened his bag again. “Kadam was then told that the coins were seen as bullets in the X-ray scan...,” the source said. “Since Kadam is a security official, he questioned the CISF as to how the coins can appear as bullets. This did not go down well with the CISF and they scolded him.”
Kadam’s woes did not end there. He was sent back from the boarding gate since the tag on his baggage did not have the CISF’s ‘checked’ stamp. He then approached the CISF officials. Kadam’s only mistake was that he left his bag with them while he approached his seniors. On his return, a senior CISF official, who accompanied Kadam, asked two guards — PSI Gulshan and PSI Srivastava — to stamp the tag.
“The guards said they felt something was suspicious and wanted to re-check Kadam’s bag. When they opened it, they found a lighter in it,” the source said. “Having spent years in the airline security, Kadam knew that he cannot carry such articles on board. He was sure the lighter was deliberately put by the two angry officials.” The CISF commander, who came along with Kadam, knew what had happened and resolved the matter on the spot.
Kadam wrote to the security agency to check the CCTV footage and demeaned that the recordings be handed over to him. He wanted to punish the culprits.
Kadam has even written to the bureau of civil aviation security (BCAS) and AI, but no action has been taken till date.
30/12/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air India Dec 2010, Airports Dec 2010