Air traveller loses luggage, crooks find his debit cards

Mumbai: If Malad resident Kamrup Saha thought the airline losing his baggage was an annoyance then what happened next was a mini catastrophe. The 32-year-old boarded the evening Kingfisher flight IT 514 from Kolkata on Thursday and landed at Mumbai airport about 11.30 pm.
Like the other passengers, he then headed for the conveyor belt to collect his baggage. He waited and waited, but his belongings never arrived. Saha then went to the airline counter and apprised them of the matter.
"They gave me a report on which it was mentioned that my luggage had not been delivered to me and it would be dispatched to my residence at the earliest. I also mentioned the items inside the baggage including my debit cards," Saha told MiD DAY.
Saha then headed home with the hope that his luggage would reach him shortly. The next day, three SMSes arrived within minutes of each other that startled him.
They were about transactions made with a debit card that was inside one of his missing bags. "I received the first SMS at 12.06 pm on Feb 3, when my card was swiped at a Lokhandwala-based beauty salon for Rs 1,506.
I was shocked. How could anyone use my card when it was locked inside the undelivered bag? After a few minutes I received the second SMS when my card was swiped for Rs 2,195, this time at a Lokhandwala-based shoe store. This was followed by a message about my card being used for Rs 9,443 at a jewellery shop in the same area," he added.
An amount of Rs 5,000 was also withdrawn by the miscreants, in cash, using another debit card as the document with the personal identification number (PIN) was also inside the bag.
Saha then immediately blocked his cards and reported the matter to the airport police station on the evening of February 3. After registering the complaint, police officials went to all the places at which the cards had been used and it was revealed that a lady named Reshma Khan had allegedly used at least one of the debit cards.
Cops say they are also investigating the possible role of airline ground handling staff in the case.
07/02/12 Shiva Devnath and Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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Categories: airports Feb 2012