Need stricter system to screen people at IGI airport: CISF

NEW DELHI: In a major security breach just a week before Republic Day this year, a Gurgaon resident managed to sneak inside the IGI Airport on a fake Etihad ticket for United Arab Emirates and spent 10 days in the international terminal, unnoticed by airport staff and security personnel.

The man, Mohammad Abdullah, who is from Hyderabad and claims to be working for a Gurgaon company, was finally noticed by a housekeeping staffer, who alerted CISF. He was handed over to the Delhi Police on January 20.

"It was a one-off incident, a first for any Indian airport. Abdullah said he was turned away once but re-entered the airport," a CISF official said.


On January 11, Abdullah had checked in with Etihad, who found his ticket to be forged and reported the matter to CISF. However, they let him off.

Within an hour, he took another printout of the ticket and re-entered the airport from another gate. This time, he remained there for 10 days without raising suspicion before a housekeeping staffer told CISF that he had been noticing the man at the terminal for past few days. On this, a team of armed guards took him out of the terminal and all agencies concerned, including intelligence, were informed about the matter.

Delhi Police arrested the man and booked him for trespassing. "Abdullah was jointly interrogated by the police and intelligence agencies. He revealed that he had been waiting to receive some money to fly to UAE. He was arrested under relevant sections and an FIR was registered against him," said a senior police officer. Unauthorised entry at the IGI airport has become a menace for security agencies as around two dozen passengers have been arrested for the offence this year alone. More than 50 people were caught holding fake tickets in 2015, while about 20 cases have been reported this year.

In March, a youth managed to sneak inside the terminal with a pistol. Last month, six men were arrested from the international terminal for roaming around suspiciously. A week before that, police arrested a foreigner who had sneaked in to see off his girlfriend. Senior CISF officers say a strict system needs to be put in place for screening people. "IGI is flooded with foreign tourists and Indian passengers during peak hours. Any leniency in the security plan may endanger lives. The issue has been raised many times but no solution has been worked out," said an senior CISF officer. IGI airport follows the SHA security plan under which a person does not have to undergo frisking before entering the terminal building. Airport officials said that there are three security plans — SHA, concourse and boarding gate — provided by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.