Your Gucci bag is safe with CISF

NEW DELHI: Did you recently forget your wallet, laptop or handbag at the airport? Chances are that once you were done with ruing your carelessness, you had no clue how to get back your misplaced articles. Well, help is now just a click away.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), looking after security of 57 airports across the country, has compiled a list of forgotten/unattended valuable items found from these airports by its staff. The list detailing the items, many of which were handed over by CISF to the airport operator for want of rightful owners, will be uploaded on its website ��� www.cisf.gov.in ��� to help the people who have these behind to come forward and claim them.

The estimated value of the valuable and important articles found by CISF between January and August this year is Rs 8.07 crore, as compared to total property worth Rs 13.82 crore in 2008 and worth Rs 11.35 crore in 2007. Of the Rs 8.07-crore worth items found by CISF until August 2009, Rs 2.34 crore worth items were found at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, alone.

Incidentally, CISF did succeed in handing over items worth Rs 1.91 crore to their rightful owners, but the remaining Rs 6.16-crore worth of items were turned over to the airport operators as they had no claimant.

In 2008, items worth Rs 5.18 crore were handed over to the passengers and worth Rs 8.63 crore to airport operators, while in 2007 the figures were Rs 4.49-crore items and Rs 6.86-crore items, respectively.

Among list of articles found until August, 2009, are a black coloured bag of politician Ashwini Kumar found at Kochi airport containing Kisan Vikas Patra, gold jewellery, cheque books, mobile phone, credit cards and foreign currency, all together valued at Rs 5 lakh; a black coloured bag found at Kochi airport and traced to Chain Pal, containing 39 grams of gold, babyfood and dress, all valued at Rs 5 lakh; baggage with electronic chips left behind by an unknown person at Kolkata airport, valued at Rs 4 lakh; a ladies bag at Ahmedabad airport with 28 items of gold worth Rs 3 lakh and cash worth Rs 1.5 lakh and a laptop found from IGI airport, Delhi, and traced to Michal Haider Ali.