Meet the friendly neighbourhood securityman

NEW DELHI: They are going for an image makeover. The personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), often accused of misconduct and unhelpful behaviour towards air travellers, are trying to shed their negative image and playing the role of angels in disguise.

Not only are there instructions of being friendly towards passengers, the CISF are also playing the role of good Samaritans, by recovering unclaimed property and returning it to its rightful owner by tracing them.

“We are not only trying to help the passengers by returning their belongings, but it is a conscious effort to be friendly with them,” said the officer, adding that airport security be come easy with cooperation from passengers.

In the past one year, the personnel have managed to retrieve and return property worth Rs 6.88 crore in 54 airports around the country. The personnel were most effective in Delhi, as they have managed to retrieve property worth Rs 3.71 crore.

“We often spot unclaimed luggage at the airports so we try to trace the owners and return it to them,” said a senior official.

“We have given specific orders to our men that they have to be very careful while talking to passengers and should try to help them,” said the officer.  

Apart from Delhi, unclaimed baggage worth Rs 67 lakh was recovered and returned at Mumbai airport, followed by Kolkata with Rs 31 lakh and Kochi with Rs 21 lakh. The articles recovered mostly include cash, electronic goods, watches and mobile phones. Recently, an alert CISF officer returned a bag containing Rs 6 lakh to a passenger at the Delhi international airport.

If this was not enough, the recovery figures have raised in the past three months in Delhi where the authorities have already recovered passenger goods worth Rs 1.45 crore.

“The recovery figures also show that our men have actually done well to identify and return unclaimed baggage,” the officer said.