Ranchi, May 14: Ajay Kumar Sinha, a Pune-based young software engineer, was arrested from Ranchi airport this morning for carrying 6 unlicensed cartridges in his hand baggage along with his late mother’s jewellery items.

He was arrested while trying to board an Air Deccan Ranchi-Calcutta flight.

Sinha’s mother died on May 9 and he was returning along with her jewellery items kept in a red cloth that also had the bullets, he claims to have no ideas about.

Sinha’s father is a retired engineer from HEC who lives at Hinoo. What is surprising is that the family never owned any firearms and still the bullets are apparently looking very old.

Both the central industrial security force (CISF) and Doranda police believe the engineer is innocent since he was not carrying any firearm, but expressed helplessness since the security of airport and plane were sensitive issues that needed utmost care.

CISF deputy commandant G.P. Choudhary said a frequent traveller like Sinha will never commit such a blunder since he is aware of all the norms and the strict security check up at the airports.

Choudhary said the bullets were detected by Air Deccan employees while frisking the passenger.

“He claims he was unaware of the bullets and says someone else might have kept them there. He looks a sensible man and innocent without any wrong intentions, but we have to follow the strict instructions.”

“We have lodged an FIR and forwarded him to Doranda police for further action,” he said.

Doranda police station officials admitted there could be a foul play and someone could have tried to implicate Sinha for usurping his property, but this can be established only after thorough investigation.

Police sources said Sinha’s only brother is a finance manager based in Mumbai. “He claims his wife is ill in Pune so she could not come to attend her mother in law’s funeral. The young man claims to be having a four year old daughter, but we cannot let him go,” said an official.

The police official said Sinha was fully co operating in the investigations. The offence is bailable, he added.