New Delhi, Jan. 24: Delhi police are looking for a US-based Bengali doctor who was detained after live bullets were found in his flight luggage but vanished before he was to board a plane to Calcutta.
Red-faced cops in the capital have now turned to their counterparts in Calcutta for help as Subroto Lahiri was scheduled to reach the Bengal capital on Friday.
A Delhi police officer, however, said Lahiri’s relatives had denied that he had reached Calcutta.
“During investigation, it was found that Lahiri had taken an Indigo flight to Calcutta. However, his relatives in Calcutta are denying that he has reached. If Calcutta police manage to trace him, we will send a team to arrest Lahiri,” a Delhi police officer said.
Lahiri, who has been living in the US for the past 25 years and is said to be a professor at a university, had landed at Delhi airport on January 20 and boarded a coach for the domestic terminal for a connecting Kingfisher flight to Calcutta.
But in the coach he had left behind a bag, which was found by the Central Industrial Security Force. When the bag was opened, it was found to have live cartridges.
“After six rounds of bullets were found by a Kingfisher Airlines official from his baggage, Lahiri was detained. He is a licence holder but his licence is not valid in India,” the police officer said.
Under Indian law, a passenger needs to have a permit to carry even a licensed gun or live bullets on a flight though not as part of cabin baggage.
Police sources wondered how Lahiri had managed to get past airport security personnel in the US, where officials are on their toes since they aborted the Christmas Day plot to blow up a plane.
During detention, Lahiri complained of chest pain and was admitted to the Apollo medical unit at Delhi airport. “After completing the formalities, we allowed him to leave for Calcutta,” the police officer said.
Lahiri was scheduled to board a flight to Calcutta on Friday morning but, at the last moment, decided not to and left the airport. Delhi police have registered a case.
