Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A case of baggage tampering and theft has come to light at the Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, involving a furniture businessman.
The businessman, arriving from Mumbai on an Air India flight, discovered that his suitcase lock was broken and that high-end valuables were missing. Aerodrome police have registered a case and initiated a probe into the incident.
The complainant, Himanshu Gupta, a resident of Shrinath Residency and owner of a furniture shop in Vijay Nagar, reported that he travelled from Mumbai to Indore on May 2. Gupta checked in two bags, a large suitcase and a small bag, at the Air India counter in Mumbai around 4:00 am, securing them with a password lock.
He boarded flight AI-2591 at 7:25 am and landed in Indore at approximately 9:00 am. Upon retrieving his luggage from Baggage Belt No. 2 at Indore airport, he noticed the lock on his large suitcase was broken and the zipper was open.
Inside the tampered suitcase, several luxury items were missing, including a Rado watch, branded perfume and a leather belt.
Gupta immediately informed the Air India ground staff and subsequently filed a complaint with the Aerodrome Police Station. He claimed that the luggage was perfectly intact and locked at the time of check-in in Mumbai, implying the theft occurred while the bags were in the airline's custody.
In addition to the police report, Gupta has also reached out to Air India via email and social media. In response, the airline has reportedly requested a pilferage report to proceed with its internal investigation.
