Passenger Smokes Beedi Inside IndiGo Flight’s Restroom; Arrested at Mumbai Airport

A 42-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly smoked a beedi inside a lavatory onboard a Riyadh-bound IndiGo flight, a Mumbai Police official said on Tuesday raising concerns over security as the passenger had managed to pass through pre-boarding check-in at the Delhi airport.

After the Delhi-Mumbai-Riyadh flight landed, the cabin crew handed him over to the police on Monday.

The accused managed to sneak a lighter and a beedi onto the flight from Delhi on Monday, leaving officials shocked.

The man identified as Mohammed Fakruddin Mohammed Ammuruddin, who worked as a labourer, was flying to Riyadh via Mumbai on a connecting flight.

“The incident came to light when a flight security official noticed smoke in its lavatory mid-air after Ammuruddin exited it,” the official said. After the flight landed in Mumbai, the man was detained by the cabin crew, and the police were informed, he said.

The airline personnel said Ammuruddin told police that he works as a labourer in the Saudi Arabia capital.

“During questioning, he claimed to have successfully passed the security check-up at the Delhi airport by concealing a beedi and a lighter in pockets of his pants,” the official added.

Ammuruddin was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and the Aircraft Act. He was remanded to judicial custody by a local court.

In another unrelated incident reported in Akasa Air airline, 56-year-old first-time flyer, who was travelling from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru by Akasa Air airline, was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport upon arrival for allegedly smoking a beedi midair in the lavatory and risking the lives of other passengers onboard.

The man, identified as M Praveen Kumar, was a labourer by profession and a native of Marwar junction in Rajasthan’s Pali district. He was sent to Bengaluru Central Jail.

The incident came to the fore when the crew members found the accused smoking inside the toilet. Upon arrival at the Bengaluru airport, the airline’s duty manager Vijay Thulluru lodged a complaint against Kumar to the cops at airport.

(with PTI inputs)