A middle-aged person held for travelling on a fake Indian passport escaped from the airport here, raising question about security at airports.
A Qatari national who was to be deported to Doha on Tuesday escapes from the airport
The police and airport security personnel at the Sahar terminal of Mumbai airport were set on a wild goose chase when a Qatari national who was to be deported on Monday managed to escape from the airport premises.
According to the police, Watangi Gafar arrived in Mumbai from Saudi Arabia aboard a Qatar Airways flight at 8.00am on Monday.
During the immigration check, officials found that the date of birth mentioned on his passport was wrong — the month printed on it was 00. “The officials refused him permission to land in Mumbai and decided to deport him to Qatar on Tuesday morning,” a source at the airport said.
The airline staff escorted Gafar to the transit area of terminal 2A at Sahar, where he was asked to wait. Around 12.30pm, Gafar asked the escort to let him to use the restroom. However, he disappeared from there.
“His escape seems improbable as he cannot come out of the terminal without being seen by either the immigration or CISF officials,” the source said.
The transit area is on the mezzanine floor while the arrivals area is on the ground floor. “Even if he came down to the arrivals area, he would have been spotted there by the immigration officials or CISF staff,” the source added.
“The CISF guards always ask for entry pass or boarding card of those inside the terminal,” said a senior police officer. However, Gafar disappeared from the airport without being caught by the security, which meant there was as lapse in security even after high alert was declared in New Delhi, the official added. Sources did not rule out the possibility of an insider helping Gafar escape.
The CISF, however, lodged a complaint only around 7.00pm on Monday.
The police said initial investigations indicated that Gafar was just a labourer and was not involved in any subversive activity.
Officers at the Sahar airport police said they had received a letter from the Qatar Airways saying a passenger named Gafar had evaded security at Mumbai airport and had used forged documents to fly to Mumbai. “The immigration authority was doing the paperwork to deport Gafar to Doha, it was during this time that he slipped,” said Janardhan Garje, assistant commissioner of police.
Deputy commissioner of police (zone VIII) RN Tadvi said the airline had not lodged a complaint with the police.
He added that the case would be handed over to the police after enquiries were conducted at the immigration department and the airline.
narayan@dnaindia.net
s_naveeta@dnaindia.net
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