3 Air India employees arrested for helping gold smugglers
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Nov, 2021 09:12 AM
Jaipur, Nov 19 (IANS) Three employees of Air India, accused of having a role in the smuggling of gold, have been arrested, officials said on Friday.
They have been accused of having a hand in a recent incident wherein 1.5 kg gold -- stored beneath an aircraft's seat -- was seized.
A passenger, who was later questioned in the matter, revealed the involvement of three employees of Air India.
All three of them have been arrested on charges of assisting in gold smuggling.
The Customs Department claims that the smugglers had brought gold worth Rs 75 lakh hidden under the seat with the help of the arrested individuals.
"...or else, it was not possible to hide the gold under the seat of the plane," an official said.
According to the information received, this is the first time that the collusion of airline employees has come to the fore in the case of gold smuggling.
On November 16, at Jaipur airport, the Customs team had seized gold from an aircraft.
A senior Customs official said that gold was hidden under the seat of the plane with the connivance of Shivram Meena, Gyanchand Meena and Kaushal Verma.
During questioning, it was revealed that they have been working for Air India for the last four years.
The Punjab Congress leaders who have distanced themselves from the so-called festering revolt in the party are: Kuldeep Vaid, Dalvir Singh Goldie, Santokh Singh, Angad Singh, Raja Warring and Gurkirat Singh Kotli, all MLAs, and Bhalaipur Ajit Singh Mofar, a former MLA.
Gurbachan Singh (55) was a relieved man after he welcomed his three sons at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here. They were among the 78 Afghan- Indians who were evacuated from Kabul to Tajikistan on Monday and to Delhi on Tuesday afternoon.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters along with former Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram, Gandhi said: "The Prime Minister and the BJP said that the Congress had done nothing in last 70 years. There is a list here of all the assets that the Congress has helped build using the public money.
Accordingly, a special Air India flight from Kabul landed at the IGi airport here on Tuesday carrying 44 Afghan Sikhs, who brought three copies of Guru Granth Sahib with them.
Four dummy AK-47 rifles, 4 dummy pistols, combat uniforms and a Maruti car were recovered from the gang. Gold worth Rs 20 lakh and cash to the tune of Rs 3 lakh were also recovered from their possession.
This is the first time that women officers serving with the Corps of Signals, Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and the Corps of Engineers have been approved to the rank of Colonel.
