News
India: Theft of Parliamentarian's luggage sparks investigation into growing luggage tampering problem.
A query triggered by a parliamentarian's loss has prompted the government to unzip baggage data that suggest India's airports are getting increasingly theft-prone. Airports across the country cumulatively documented 114 cases of baggage theft last year, a 50 per cent increase over the number during the previous year, the Union civil aviation ministry has told Parliament. B.V. Nayak, the Congress MP from Raichur constituency in Karnataka, lost Rs 2 lakh in cash while travelling from Bangalore to Hyderabad in May this year. Executives with the Air Passengers Association of India, a body that advocates air travellers' rights, said there has been a marked increase in the number of complaints about such incidents. "In most cases, suitcases and bags remain locked, but valuables are found missing later - most of the time it is electronic items such as laptops or cameras, jewellery or cash that are taken away by baggage-handling staffers," an official at APAI said. "Taking up the matter with airline staff is mostly a futile exercise as they simply wash their hands of the incidents. The government should ensure stricter security around areas where cargo is handled". More information available here: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150803/jsp/nation/story_35105.jsp#.VfBLRefZ3ug
Source: The Telegraph.