Kathmandu, October 17
Tribhuvan International Airport is currently reeling from the effects of a shocking incident.
The incident, in which goods were reportedly stolen from luggage belonging to 17 Nepali nationals last Friday (October 14), has raised questions on aviation security. The theft came to light when a FlyDubai flight originating in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, landed in Kathmandu on Friday night after a transit at Dubai.
These bags belonged to Nepali workers, whom Saudi police had deported to Nepal after keeping them in its custody for a month, on the charge of working in companies other than the designated ones.
Probe panel formed
Airport authorities have formed a five-member committee under TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur to investigate the ‘grand theft’ that they believe occurred ‘elsewhere’, not at TIA.
Other panel members include Prakash Chandra Dhakal, chief of the aviation safety division, Chhabi Lal Khanal, chief of the aerodrome safety office and senior officer of the airport’s administrative division.
The committee will try to establish if the theft occurred at TIA itself or in some other airport and expose those involved. According to Thakur, the panel has got five days to submit its report.
FlyDubai provides compensation
Meanwhile, FlyDubai has provided compensation to the victims, who had boarded one of its flights to Nepal from Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, 17 of the 20 Nepali workers, who were on board that flight, had their goods stolen.
TIA spokesperson Thakur confirmed this. The victims have complained that they also lost their mobile phone sets, but we have not informed the airlines concerned about this.
For now, the airlines has given compensation to the victims on the basis of the weight of the goods lost, Thakur said.
He said they will investigate whether or not the victims had their mobile phone sets stolen/lost.
The probe committee says the goods may have gotten lost in Saudi Arabia itself, and has asked the representative of the Saudi Embassy in Nepal to help with the investigation. There is very little chance of anyone breaking the luggage at Tribhuvan International Airport, so we have asked the Saudi Embassy to assist in the investigation, he said.
Police clueless
A police probe launched in Nepal after the reported theft has failed to unravel the mystery.
Govinda Niraula, DIG at TIA, told Onlinekhabar that police found no evidence suggesting that the theft occurred at Nepal’s airport.
He told Onlinekhabar: We conducted an investigation after checking footage of CCTV cameras installed at the airport, but found no suspicious activity to suggest that the theft occurred at TIA.
‘Theft of one-two bags is possible, but this involves baggage belonging to 17 people. This incident seems unbelievable. We are investigating the case nonetheless’
TIA spokesperson Thakur also said the incident did not take place at TIA. He said: Theft of one-two bags is possible, but this involves luggage belonging to 17 Nepalis. This incident seems unbelievable. We are investigating the case nonetheless.
What was inside those bags?
At 9.30 pm on Friday, 20 Nepalis arrived at TIA on a FlyDubai flight. Surprisingly, bags belonging to only three Nepalis arrived on time. Sometime later, luggage belonging to the remaining 17 Nepalis also arrived, but they were not intact.
The 17 Nepali nationals refused to accept their bags, as they were torn. Thakur said the next morning the victims accepted their luggage and showed them to the media.
Most of the victims claimed that mobile phone sets kept inside their bags were gone, while others said watches too were gone. Airline authorities request passengers not to keep valuables inside their luggage. Thakur said the committee is also investigating whether the ‘victims’ had mobile phone sets and watches inside their bags.
He accused some groups of hatching plots to give bad name to management of TIA in a bid to give the task of airport management to the private sector.
