Mid-Day

Mumbai, May 31: On Tuesday night, about a dozen Indian Airlines passengers on three flights found their checked-in bags broken into when they picked them up at the conveyor belt. The airport police registered a complaint and are investigating if the thefts were part of a single racket.

At 9 pm, when Rohit Satia (30) arrived at the domestic airport from Delhi, he found his bag had been tampered with. Satia and wife Nidhi (27) approached Indian Airlines officials, but claimed they were ignored. But soon, the Satias found 10 more passengers with similar complaints.

Bhupendra Sanghvi (49), who arrived from Chennai, said, “Our locks were broken and clothes, perfumes, watches, and sunglasses – worth around Rs 30,000 – were missing. We now want new suitcases and suitable compensation for this ordeal.”

Satia added, “How could something like this happen in a high-security area like the airport? Only after the police and MiD DAY intervened did they agree to compensate us.”

Trevor Gonzalves, duty manager, Indian Airlines, said, “Appropriate action will be taken against those responsible for the alleged tampering. Our security personnel are also checking the bags to assess the damage.”