Mumbai, March 29 (IANS) Four days before the cricket World Cup final in Mumbai, a legislator from Maharashtra's ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Tuesday claimed 30 entry passes of Mumbai airport employees were missing and could fall into wrong hands.

Raising the issue in the state legislative council, NCP lawmaker Kiran Pawaskar said the employees working at the airport are required to secure a character certificate from Mumbai police.

"Only after this, they are issued entry passes to work in the airport premises. 30 such passes have been reported missing. These can be easily misused by anti-national elements or terror groups," he said.

Pawaskar said the local deputy commissioner of police has already taken cognizance of the issue, and urged the government to take a serious view of the matter.

Council Chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh, agreeing the matter was indeed serious from the security point of view, asked Pawaskar to write to Home Minister R.R. Patil and apprise him of the situation.

A spokesperson for the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said they have no knowledge of the missing work passes.