Passenger held with pistol inside airport

THE ARRESTED MAN WAS STOPPED AND NABBED AFTER A SCAN OF HIS LUGGAGE REVEALED THE GUN

NEW DELHI: Security agencies at Indira Gandhi International Airport went into a tizzy on Sunday after a passenger managed to sneak inside terminal 3 with a pistol.

The man, identified as Dalwinder Singh, who hails from Punjab’s Patiala and works as a cook in Germany, was nabbed after the gun was discovered while screening of his check-in luggage. He was sent to judicial custody, police said.

Singh had arrived at the Delhi airport to board a Turkish Airlines flight TK 717, to Istanbul. According to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officers, around 10am, a baggage screener of the Delhi International Airport Ltd detected one countrymade pistol while screening of Singh’s check-in bag.

“On opening the bag, a pistol was recovered from it. The man was immediately apprehended and the Delhi Police was informed about the incident,” said a senior CISF officer.

Confirming the incident, deputy commissioner of police, IGI airport, Sanjay Bhatia, said that a case under Arms Act was registered against the Indian national. “The accused was arrested and has been sent to jail. The weapon was confiscated. Further investigation is being done to trace the source of the weapon. The possible involvement of other people is also being looked into,” Bhatia said.

Singh, police said, was scheduled to board another flight TK-1339 from Istanbul to Leipzig Halle in Germany.

The IGI airport follows SHA (security hold area) plan. This means that any hazardous object being carried by any passenger can only be intercepted or detected during the security check.

There are three types of airport security plans, as approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Security Hold Area Plan, where security checks are performed at SHA area before check-in, Boarding Gate Plan, in which frisking and documents are checked at the boarding gates and Concourse Plan, which mandates checking at the airport’s terminal entry.

Concourse Plan is in practice only at Srinagar airport in India.